Late to the party: Persona 4

[bluestarultor]

Let me just say that the game is good. It definitely kept me playing, and I'm especially liking the weather forecasting thing.

That said, first impressions of the characters are... I dunno. The close-ups aren't as expressive as Persona 3's, for one, and they seem sorely lacking in certain emotions, so the characters seem rather flat. The voice acting is also kind of meh, which is a shock, because there's some good talent on this thing. Further in, they've either actually improved or I've just gotten used to them, but I can't say anything's really helped me like the characters off the bat. They're actually pretty boring, but I'm hoping they improve further, because at this rate, there will be a good cast soon. It just seems harder to get into it with the party in this one.

Combat is as good as ever, but there's a gripe with that one, too. What the FUCK is with having to figure out enemy weaknesses on my own!? P3 had someone take a minute to conveniently analyze it and tell me and the party what made the beasties fall down, but in the one, all they say is what I already know. That means I might have to face an enemy multiple times to know what actually works on it. They also seem to have removed physical damage types from the equation, but I can't really comment on whether that's actually a good thing, given that the MC is locked into one weapon type. It's not necessarily a step back, but it does seem odd.

Finally, the shuffle. OH, the shuffle. The cards don't stay still this time around. So not only do you have to follow the one you want, you also have to press X to grab it when it's closest to you, and if you miss, well, not only do you miss out on a bonus, but there's also a chance you'll grab a penalty card that tosses out all the experience and items you just earned. I just shut the game off for a bit over just this situation. My first random battle and not only did I whiff a Pixie, but I pulled a penalty card. This is NOT fair.

Anyone else still care about this game?

[Kim]

That said, first impressions of the characters are... I dunno.

Kanji is the best character in the game. Nanako and Dojima will really start to grow on you once you start their social links, especially Dojima. My only real complaint against Nanako is they can't seem to decide her age. Chie is pretty great. The other characters are mostly "Your Mileage May Vary" kinda deals. You'll probably find characters and social links you really like, but won't really care about the others as much. <3 Adachi

Combat is as good as ever, but there's a gripe with that one, too. What the FUCK is with having to figure out enemy weaknesses on my own!? P3 had someone take a minute to conveniently analyze it and tell me and the party what made the beasties fall down, but in the one, all they say is what I already know. That means I might have to face an enemy multiple times to know what actually works on it.

I like this. Means you have to be more careful until you figure the enemies out. Can't use a superpowered fuck you physical attack right from the getgo because it might reflect and kill you. Still nicer than Nocturne. Analyze is a skill in Nocturne which means it takes a space, takes one of your MC's turns to use, and doesn't carry over from battle to battle, so you just have to remember stuff. Nocturne was ballin' hard.

It's especially nice since the game is far more forgiving with the whole weakness extra turn thing than Persona 3 was, and Persona 3 was leagues nicer than Nocturne. I find it balances out how much nicer the game is being to you. Plus you can control your teammates so yeah.

They also seem to have removed physical damage types from the equation, but I can't really comment on whether that's actually a good thing, given that the MC is locked into one weapon type. It's not necessarily a step back, but it does seem odd.

I think it balances things out, since physical attacks are the only ones that can crit. Besides, anything not a sword in P3 was pretty useless for starting random encounters, so I'm not really missing the other weapons.

This is NOT fair.

Be less terrible at it. :P

[bluestarultor]

In all fairness, I'm going to be turning it back on in a minute and the cards all have the decency to follow their own orbit. It looks kind of cool, too. It certainly drew a WTF from me when six cards popped up and scattered after the P3 system. I just am thinking of all those poor, unfortunate souls who don't have a crazy good reaction time like myself when I'm fully awake (10PM over here ATM), because if I whiffed a card, albeit on my first try and not at optimum, I'm sure there are many people who find such a system frustrating.

[Kim]

I remember Persona 3 having some damn unfollowable system near the end where the cards would leave the screen and come back down and the order in which they did those things determined which was which or something. I can't remember it all to clearly, but I feel like that one's more bullshit than this one.

[bluestarultor]

Originally Posted by NonCon

I remember Persona 3 having some damn unfollowable system near the end where the cards would leave the screen and come back down and the order in which they did those things determined which was which or something. I can't remember it all to clearly, but I feel like that one's more bullshit than this one.

I actually figured that out quite easily. They came down in numerical arrangement of the order they went up.

[Drownball-Champ]

It took me 2 or 3 tries to see what was going on with the cards going up and coming back.

Originally Posted by bluestarultor

They also seem to have removed physical damage types from the equation, but I can't really comment on whether that's actually a good thing, given that the MC is locked into one weapon type. It's not necessarily a step back, but it does seem odd.

I liked that they took it out. That along with the inability to control my team was my least favorite part of P3. Although they still could've allowed you to choose any weapon.

Originally Posted by bluestarultor

That said, first impressions of the characters are... I dunno. The close-ups aren't as expressive as Persona 3's, for one, and they seem sorely lacking in certain emotions, so the characters seem rather flat. The voice acting is also kind of meh, which is a shock, because there's some good talent on this thing. Further in, they've either actually improved or I've just gotten used to them, but I can't say anything's really helped me like the characters off the bat. They're actually pretty boring, but I'm hoping they improve further, because at this rate, there will be a good cast soon. It just seems harder to get into it with the party in this one.

I prefer the story in P3, but I liked the cast a lot more in this one. The only 2 people I liked in 3 were Junpei and the leader of Strega, can never remember his name, Takaya maybe... Or something like that. I don't think this one had a single character I didn't like, except maybe Nanako. As for the voice acting both were good but this one has JYB, just having him in it fixes any other VA problems.

I've been meaning to play through it again , but haven't been able to bring myself to do it yet. Still need to go through 3 again. Also don't forget, Chie's Galactic Punt is a lifesaver. Works on any enemy except for the last boss of each area if i remember correctly.

[Kim]

Yeah, P3 has the better story for sure, but P4 has some great story moments.

Fun fact: Takaya from P3 and the news reporter you hear on TV in P4 both have the same voice actor. I like to imagine they're the same character.

[Solid Snake]

Originally Posted by bluestarultor

The voice acting is also kind of meh, which is a shock, because there's some good talent on this thing.

...Really?
I mean if there's one thing I absolutely positively adored about Persona 4, it was about 90% of the voice acting. Everyone was top-notch, minus maybe Rise (her shadow's voice was excruciating, and her regular ol' voice wasn't horrible or anything, it just was annoying insofar as it involved the character saying the same damn lines during every battle.)

And a few of the supporting NPCs (those you can befriend who do not join your party) are pretty terrible, but they don't have very many voiced lines.

I love Persona 4 and I love it a bit more than I loved Persona 3, though I will say that when I started Persona 4 I was still coming off a Persona 3 induced high and I subsequently had some high expectations coming in that weren't immediately met. Because Persona 3 leaves you on such an awesome note -- and since you've spent something like 80+ hours with those characters -- it's difficult to adapt to Persona 4's characters insofar as they can't by definition appear as developed and nuanced as P3's when you're just beginning. You've had a long time to grow to like P3's cast, so you'll need to give P4's an equal investment.

Also, I will say that P4's plot initially feels somewhat underwhelming compared to P3. You're going from (MAJOR Persona 3 Spoilers) sacrificing yourself to destroy an otherworldly evil born from human angst and apathy that threatens to destroy an entire world, killing everyone you care about to solving what appears to be a serial murder case with victims kidnapped into televisions.

P4 just doesn't quite match the enormity of scope or seriousness of P3 (and when it eventually tries to, it falls somewhat flat by comparison.) P4 is endearing for entirely different and somewhat more lighthearted reasons, involving characters who are much more realistic and (in my opinion) ultimately more multifaceted and likable. Both games succeed in terms of their narratives for very different reasons, with P3 sacrificing character depth and intimacy in order to concoct a more epic and emotional plot, and P4 taking the opposite route and sacrificing plot intensity in order to let the cast shine through genuine moments that expose them as something less than "heroes" and more like "regular, albeit extraordinarily lovable, teenage kids."

[bluestarultor]

Honestly, most of my problem with the voice came from Chie, who also happens to be my least favorite character so far. Man is she ever a bitch in the beginning. She seems to be getting better on both fronts at this point.

Also, holy fucking shit, when they say to train around for ages, they bloody well mean it. Difficulty curve goes up fast. My brother has essentially given up on the game because it kicked his ass for trying to power through like he was used to doing n P3. I told him, the game told him, he blew us both off, now he's yammering on about how he hates it because it slapped him like a bitch.

More time for me, I guess.

[EVILNess]

I found 4 much easier than 3, mainly cause of the ability to control your party members and them taking fatal blows for you.

Also, Chie is awesome and nobody can beat her Galactic Punt. No one.

Seriously though, I had no trouble with the game. The bosses were a challenge, but I thnk the only one that ever killed me was Yukiko's Shadow. As for me, by the time I got Kanji I was powering through the dungeons in a single day boss and all. Hell even before that I was powering through them in a single day, getting to the top, then coming back the next day and killing the boss.