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    Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4

    Game » consists of 5 releases. Released Jul 10, 2008

    Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 is a role-playing game developed and published by Atlus for the PlayStation 2. It is chronologically the fifth installment in the Shin Megami Tensei: Persona series. Like its predecessor, its gameplay combines a traditional role-playing game with elements of a social simulation. Its critical and commercial success spawned a sizable media empire, including several spinoff titles.

    Any Advice?

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    Spiritgod

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    #1  Edited By Spiritgod

    Okay, so I started watching the endurance runs for Persona 4...I know I'm a little late to the party. I told myself that I'd buy this game if it were an action RPG, but by the time Vinny and Jeff got to actual game play I was pretty much hooked. I've ordered my copy of the game, which should arrive sometime this week, but I've never played any turn-based RPG for more than a few hours. So, I've come to the boards in search of seasoned turn-based players to gain a bit of wisdom. Is there anything in particular I need to know that might make my transition that much more easier? I've learned a good bit from my viewing of the endurance run, but I still feel like there is more that I need to know.

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    Cincaid

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    #2  Edited By Cincaid

    @Spiritgod: Firstly I'd advice you stop watching the ER, and save it for after your own playthrough to avoid spoilers and surprises. Secondly, half the fun of that game is discovering stuff on your own, and really not follow guides etc. The one exception would be the quizzes in school, feel free to get a FAQ for those silly questions. Also, make sure you set all in your party to follow your command; they're set to AI-controlled by default.

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    TruthTellah

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    #3  Edited By TruthTellah

    @Spiritgod: As Cincaid said, it's best not to spoil too much; the game will ease you into it.

    The only tip I'd give is to notice and remember enemy weaknesses. This game is all about weaknesses(yours and your opponents) and make sure you do the right element attacks on the right enemies. Other than that, just experiment and have fun. And don't worry if you die sometimes; that'll happen. Just make sure you're always learning more and not taking on more than you can chew. If you're under-leveled for an area or floor, you'll notice pretty quick, as the fights will get real tough and/or long. That usually means you need to hang out on the lower levels or previous dungeons to level raise a bit. Persona 4 usually won't need much of that though. So, just go with what feels right. It should be challenging without being too frustrating.

    And lastly, just have fun. P4 allows you to decide a lot of what you'll do with your time, and just try to do what feels right. Enjoy it, man! :)

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    Spiritgod

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    #4  Edited By Spiritgod

    Thanks for the replies. Spoilers were not going to be an issue since I only attentively watched the first few episodes of the endurance run...to make sure I'd like it. But being a gamer who isn't readily familiar with the tropes of turn-based RPGs, I was just making sure that I had all the knowledge I needed to complete this game. This will be the first turn-based RPG I finish, but will be one out of many that I've attempted. Finally got my copy in today and will start it up and hopefully make it to the point where the game opens up.

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    mtcantor

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    #5  Edited By mtcantor

    Don't skip dialogue. Seeing as how you don't really play these kinds of games, you likely aren't as familiar with the common conventions they use. As such, you should pay attention to what the game is saying, otherwise you may miss important information, and your experience may be much more frustrating than necessary.

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    xymox

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    #6  Edited By xymox

    You can try different attacks and look for weaknesses on monsters, there's always enough time to check for them unless you get ambushed or whatever it was called. Which brings me to that... Be careful and try to get the jump on enemies. It'll serve you well. You don't need it, but you'll be much less likely to wipe as long as you're at least on equal footing with the enemies.

    Whatever you do, never open a fight against a hoard of enemies you don't know strengths or weaknesses on with an "attack all" spell or attack if your persona doesn't nullify or such, the attack you use. For example, area fire spell against unknown enemies => make sure your persona nullifies (or absorbs, etc.) fire damage.

    Pay close attention to what attacks certain enemies are using, and counter that with a persona that's strong, nullifies or similar, against those attacks.

    Save often. :P (Edit: No seriously. Save all the time. It's a real bitch to wipe and end up losing HOURS of progress.)

    Will you be playing on normal difficulty?

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    Dagbiker

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    #7  Edited By Dagbiker

    @Spiritgod: You are now officially, a duder.

    You should be using your persona to knock the enemy's down with their weaknesses, then ether rushing them, if that will kill them in one hit. Or making them dizzy by attacking them again with the attack they are weak against.

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    Spiritgod

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    #8  Edited By Spiritgod

    @mtcantor: Thanks, I never skip dialogue, as story is my number one favorite thing about games, especially JRPGs. I just have never gotten deep into turn-based JRPGs, regardless of how much I wanted to.

    @Xymox: Yeah I'm playing on normal. And just to make sure I understand correctly. Try using a persona with nullify with the type of spell I'm using so that it doesn't bounce back and hit me?

    @Dagbiker: Thanks.

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    xymox

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    #9  Edited By xymox

    @Spiritgod said:

    @mtcantor: Thanks, I never skip dialogue, as story is my number one favorite thing about games, especially JRPGs. I just have never gotten deep into turn-based JRPGs, regardless of how much I wanted to.

    @Xymox: Yeah I'm playing on normal. And just to make sure I understand correctly. Try using a persona with nullify with the type of spell I'm using so that it doesn't bounce back and hit me?

    @Dagbiker: Thanks.

    Indeed :)

    That was one of my mistakes when I first played it. I kept using area stuff just to get through faster, and then BAM... reflect from all enemies and game over. :)

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    Spiritgod

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    #10  Edited By Spiritgod

    @Xymox: Thanks! That is exactly why I came to these boards, because I know something like that would have been giving me problems...and knowing me, I'd probably have no idea what just happened and wouldn't have learned from my mistakes until researching or maybe a lot of trial and error.

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    mrpandaman

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    #11  Edited By mrpandaman

    Manage your time wisely to get maximum S. Link. Getting higher S.Links is equally/more important than constantly going through dungeons each day to level up individual personas. The higher S. Link you have with someone the stronger personas you can fuse. Fuse personas to get better ones and try to pass on better traits and skills personas have. However, that doesn't mean that you should not go into dungeons when you have the chance as leveling up your own personas along with your teammates unlocks stronger skills.

    Also one of the main things in exploring the dungeons is to conserve MP or is it SP? I can't remember. Save whatever it is to cast spells to last longer in a dungeon. Also I'd advise to go back to dungeons after completing them, because you'll be able to get stronger weapons for your characters.

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    deactivated-63e39f84edec3

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    Fusing is key. Make sure you transfer the proper abilities to other personas and work you social links up. If you do it right you can end up with a persona that could be 5 level above your own

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    MiniPato

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    #13  Edited By MiniPato

    When you fuse personas you pass on skills to the resulting persona. If you want a specific skill passed on, just keep reselecting the personas you want to fuse until you see that the resulting persona will inherit it. I didn't know about this till later in the game when Margaret asks you to fuse certain personas.

    If you run into an enemy that doesn't have a weakness, I'd suggest just going physical damage. Better to hope for critical hits than guaranteed non-critical hits and wasting SP.

    Also, as much as Jeff and Vinny pine over Chie, Kanji is a better replacement for her. He has great buffing skills.

    Other than that, ain't much you need to know.

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    Raethen

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    #14  Edited By Raethen

    As Cincaid said, avoid guides other than for answering the questions in school. A lot of them are about Japanese culture, though some you can answer if you pay attention to the lecture. I've been using an answer guide for Persona 3, and it has been a godsend. Here is the first part of the answers put together by idoublepsy, and then Porridgelad finishes it here.

    If you're not big on turn based, RPGs, I would suggest the easier difficulty settings. Battles will be easier, and you get a few items that will revive you to full health and sp should you fall in battle.

    My only other advice would be to increase your personality stats (Courage, Knowledge, et all) as quickly as you can to get them out of the way. Their levels will determine how far you can go in certain s-links and whether you can start others.

    Also, watch out for the capsule machine.

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    endaround

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    #15  Edited By endaround

    Yes the biggest reason to knock down the difficulty is for what are basically continues. There are enemies that can do instant kill attacks if you are unlucky you can lose hours of progress in a dungeon.

    You're dungeon time is throttled by SP and the cheapest way to replenish it is through buying sodas at the vending machines. The game will not tell you this anywhere. And the number of sodas you can buy each week is limited.

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    Spiritgod

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    #16  Edited By Spiritgod

    Thanks everyone for the advice.

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    nightriff

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    #17  Edited By nightriff

    I'm in the same situation as Spiritgod just recently starting the P4ER and now purchasing the game, which will arrive on Tuesday and will start promptly no less. Some questions have come to mind if some would be willing to answer.

    • I'm about a 1/3 of the way through the ER, what mistakes do VJ make while playing that I should avoid?
    • Can you switch to different party members in combat? I haven't seen this done in the ER so I didn't know if it was something you can do that the guys don't know about.
    • Quickest ways to boost Courage early in the game? The one skill I want to max out first and foremost but can't find a good guide that tells me the best way to do this.
    • Can you reorganize attacks for Personas? Kinda a neat freak and don't know if it is possible to organize the attacks of personas to make it easier to get to specific ones?
    • Is P3 worth checking out compared to P4? Within the first 4 episodes I was hooked on the ER and this game. Everything about it is fascinating to me. That said is P3 worth checking out, specifically story and character wise?
    • Something (Stat or Activity) that actually isn't that useful that should avoid? Don't want to build up something then find out it is really useless.
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    Liquidus

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    #18  Edited By Liquidus

    I'm not a big fan of turn based combat at all and I absolutely love P3 and P4. I think this is because a good half of the game is spent outside of the dungeons, talking to people, doing sidequests and of course, watching the story unfold. I don't think I can add much more to this, it seems everyone's covered pretty much what you should know before heading into the game.

    @Nightriff: Not sure what mistakes Vinny or Jeff made during their playthrough but you can't really bone yourself too hard, just be sure to manage your time wisely to get the best experience.

    Yes, you can switch party members during combat.

    Read books, get the hospital job, eat some of the stuff in the fridge.

    When fusing you can look at what skills will transfer to the new persona and retry to get the skills you want to transfer, it's a little tedious though.

    P3 is absolutely worth checking out and if you want to play, definitely play it before playing P4 because the subtle changes made to P4 in the gameplay make the transition from P4 back to P3 harder.

    There's nothing really useless in the game, everything gets you something, you just gotta go with what you like.

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    nightriff

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    #19  Edited By nightriff

    @Liquidus: I meant organize the attacks like dia and media (don't remember how to spell it) next to each other. Something trivial really but makes it easier for me

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    Liquidus

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    #20  Edited By Liquidus

    @Nightriff:Nope, but at most you'll have 8 skills, usually less.

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    Chroma_Auron

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    #21  Edited By Chroma_Auron

    Normal maybe hard at first but you will adapt as you play. If you want to try a real challenge, play on hard. As long as you level your persona and social ranks well, you will do fine. The intro is about two hours long before you save so be patient. Also you can play in the dungeons as long as you want so take advantage of that if your going to do some level grinding/ questing/ item gathering by oprefparing for a long hall..

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