I think this is an area where Persona 4 shines in comparison, probably exactly because of a lesson learned from making Persona 3.
In Persona 4, you have this great loop that goes:
- Lead up to next person on the Midnight Channel. Who could it be?
- Investigation Team assembles, discusses the potential victim and investigates them and their whereabouts
- Person appears on Midnight Channel, something is probably happening involving their junk
- Rescue effort is mounted
- OPTIONAL STEP: Inauguration of latest Investigation Team member
It creates this pattern very early on that constantly gives you something to be doing, while it also doles out new characters at a steady clip. It also feeds out a constant stream of new information for the case and each successive victim gives you a new data set to compare against the others in the search for a connection between the kidnapper's targets. While Persona 3 does create a repeating sequence with the lunar cycle, there is far less to it and it basically boils down to being ready to fight a powerful shadow of whatever the next arcana is on the night of the full moon. You have lots to do in that time, from raising your personal stats (becoming a charismatic genius badass), training in Tartarus, levelling up Social Links, questing for Elizabeth etc, but none of that ties strongly into the main plotline. You feel less invested because you've so far been given less to invest in. This is maybe Persona 3's biggest issue, perhaps further compounded by the dearth of Social Links within SEES. If they're there at all, they're not accessed till fairly late in the game and that coincides with the character development in the actual story not being terribly front-loaded.
I think it's also easier to feel more distanced or detached by Persona 3 in comparison to Persona 4 because the agents at work in the story are more nebulous, which makes answers feel less attainable. It's made clear early on in Persona 4 that human motives are very likely to be behind the kidnappings. There are obviously supernatural elements, but it seems most probable that the perpetrator is a person. The antagonism in Persona 3 initially feels far less quantifiable.
Having said all that, I really love Persona 3. It's a fantastic game and I'm still not sure which I like more out of P3 or P4. Late July is also when I recall it really starts to pick up steam.
Log in to comment