The Best Thing About Persona Isn't The Fighting (Or Mitsuru, Sorry)

Kotaku - I just finished a marathon few months where, having been unfamiliar with the series, I burned through Persona 3 & 4, back-to-back. There are so many things I want to write about these fantastic games, so many feels, but the one thing that's struck me the most about them is how well they handle something so few other video games are able to manage.

[dedicatedtogamers]

It's a crying shame that most people - including the author of the article - consider Persona 3 and 4 "the Persona series" without giving any attention to one and especially to the two Persona 2 episodes, which have the best story in the series, IMO.

[Eamon]

to be honest, I've played P1 and P2IS. I didn't get to finish either of them but I played over 30 hours of Innocent Sin, and the story was so bland.

Persona is basically a deep fantasy high school VN with turn-based gameplay. In terms of story, it's nothing compared to Final Fantasy.

I've also played Persona 3 and felt the same. This sub-genre of JRPG are for those who like these sort of Japanese high school sims with a fantasy twist.

[frozen-assets]

Not sure I could disagree more. I never played Persona 1 or 2, I ALMOST didn't buy Persona 3 because I felt a little weird being in my 30's and buying a game that was largely a dating sim but I bit the bullet and am so glad I did. Persona 3 easily makes it into my personal top 5 favorite games of all time and was my entry into the Megami Tensei world. I remember swearing under my breath at these Atlus jackasses forcing me to remember a whole new lexicon, Agi=Fire, Bufu=Ice etc but I went on to become a hardcore Atlus fan and own almost all of their PS2 and subsequent games.

[Eamon]

No, I appreciate how Atlus puts a lot into the world of their games. In Persona games you have a lively city with different places to visit and people to see. But that's the core of the experience. This sort of high school sim (and P3+) with a date simulator. Then there's the turn-based combat we know of. The actual story itself isn't that much different to other Japanese visual novels that aim towards a niche (but large) audience.

Personally, I prefer Final Fantasy because it's much more story-driven in comparison to Persona's daily life scenario. FF isn't about the daily lives of a gang of high school students. It's usually about saving the world from an evil force but of course the journey and places you visit are what make the story so enjoyable. FF usually contains huge twists and turns and loads of surprises. As well as great character development and drama.

[Inception]

@Dedicatedtogamers

I've been a fans of Persona from Revelations: Persona. So i agreed with you that Persona 1 (P1) & Persona 2 (P2) story (and gameplay) are better than P3 / P4. Persona 1 & Persona 2 stories are really dark, complex, and we need to learn some of Carl Jung theory if we want to understand better of P1 and P2 story.

Also, P1 & P2 gameplay are fun but challenging and stick more to Shin Megaten roots, if we compare to the casualized P3 & P4. Like negotiation with demons, the rumour system, etc.

But i don't blame the people or this kotaku writer if they don't know the awesomeness of P1 & P2. Cause Persona got more popular (or casualized) from Persona 3. It's sad really, but on the other hands i'm happy that more people knew and playing Persona series. Hopefully Atlus put back negotiation with demons and rumor system for Persona 5.

@Eamon

"Persona is basically a deep fantasy high school VN with turn-based gameplay. In terms of story, it's nothing compared to Final Fantasy."

Lol, for me Persona 1 & Persona 2 story alone owned all FF stories. Include FF Tactics that to me is the best FF in term of stories.

[Craigatorian]

I played Persona 3 first and when I went back to Persona 2, the fact that you couldn't move your character around like in Persona 3 turned me off a little bit. In Persona 3, you could move the analog stick to character move. In Persona 3 Portable, it was more like Persona 2.

[Eamon]

Come on, really? Innocent Sin simply requires you to get from point A -> B -> C etc. You spend ages through dungeons, meet the boss, beat the boss, have a 4 minute cutscene then rinse and repeat. I remember playing about 30 hours and still don't know what was going on. A guy called Joker turns people to stone for some reason and then the theme of urban legend where rumours passed around end up becoming true.

[Donnieboi]

I love P3 and P4, but P1, P2 were true SMT games. Persona 3 & 4 have branched off as their own full blown series (even if they have the smt moniker attached to them). They even have a dedicated "Persona Team" apart from the SMT team (although they help each other out) and apart from Atlus's other teams.

Still love both series's though.

[TheoreticalParticle]

Any "journalist" that uses "so many feels" in an article has written an article that isn't worth reading.

[Donnieboi]

Anyone who tries to tell me what to read (especially based on something so stupid) is not worth listening to.