The Barsona - Persona-Related Discussion

[zerostasis]

I remember playing Disgaea 1 for at least 120+ hours. But that's an old story when I was in high school. Being in the social workforce really strains a lot your free time. Lately even playing an 80+ hour rpg takes me at about 2-3 months, which I usually do in less than a month or 2 weeks. I'm just afraid that if I bought and commit myself with Devil Survivor that I realize I really not cut out with it and just leave it to dust. Yeah Persona is no different but at least with the way it was designed I can play it with bits and bits of chunks whenever I'm free, especially with Golden being on a handheld (which I don't have).

[Wry Guy]

It's long, but not 80 hours long. Maybe 20-30. However the difficulty is very high up there. It took me two attempts to get the worst ending and a third attempt to get the best (darkest / most badass) ending. Grinding only gets you so far in that game. It doesn't feature random battles and isn't really designed to require grinding. You just have side-areas if you feel you need that extra push. It's much more efficient to just spend your money wisely and be careful about what demons you fuse/throw away. Creating one really good demon is more effective than anything else. Fusing two good demons together in order to create a crappy demon is what'll run you into a corner when you run out of money to buy anything new.

[zerostasis]

Oh so it's like take time for stratagem instead of going out do some DBZ-like-training-then-kick-ass-followed-by-rinse-repeat. That seems really nice to hear, maybe I would try it again. Coz lately I've been having hard time keeping up with my gaming habits, especially the RPG/SRPG stuff.

By the way I heard Persona 5 is on the works.

[Wry Guy]

It is. Persona's far too popular to not do something with it.

[zerostasis]

I'm getting really excited for it. On another note, I've been playing Persona Arena and the story mode really is something. Though the structure is too much of Blazblue style story-telling the overall feel is still Persona-like.

[Stevil]

I kinda have to disagree about Devil Survivor not being a grindfest. In the second half, if you haven't been hitting a target per game day, then some of the better endings are just brutal and require you to put the work in before taking on the sub-bosses.

Still, probably one of my fave games of the SMT series, just for the tactical angle. Plus the story holds up whatever path you pick, so it makes the decision making all the more interesting.

[Wry Guy]

Persona 4 Arena had a pretty cool story mode but it still falls a little flat for me. A little too much redundancy. It's still better than most fighting games by a long shot, but I'm yet to see the fighting game that truly "gets" it. The actual game's really fun. I poured a few hundred matches into the multiplayer. More than I have for any fighter in at least a few years.

For Devil Survivor it's all about becoming the supreme lord of hell and declaring war on God and the angels. Any other ending be for CHUMPS. The 3DS version offers some nice improvements like a less ambiguous ending and an improved demon compendium and search functions. Makes getting good demons much easier.

[Stevil]

For Devil Survivor it's all about becoming the supreme lord of hell and declaring war on God and the angels. Any other ending be for CHUMPS. The 3DS version offers some nice improvements like a less ambiguous ending and an improved demon compendium and search functions. Makes getting good demons much easier.

Ha! I got the neutral ending because there was no way I was slogging through the Bel bosses AND Babel. My other half went for the Silent Revolution one and her sister went for Demon King, which admittedly does have that awesome campy evil shot at the end.

I bought the sequel as a Christmas present, but secretly, it's for me too.

[Wry Guy]

If you get the enhanced version there's an epilogue after the campy screen shot you refer to. Nothing extremely elaborate, but it's still a more satisfying extension of events. Also, yes. Getting that ending is extremely tough. Even getting the worst ending can be kind of rough with those angels draining all your MP.

The sequel's a strange beast. Lots of recycled assets, clearly making it a low budget affair. It does add some gameplay improvements like allowing demon abilities to evolve over time and a legitimate social link system. There's also lots more characters, and they are fairly enjoyable. However the core story themes are much more toned down and in line with an anime plot, the characters are often a bit on the sweeter side, and the number of endings has been reduced.

It's basically a genuine T rated game, whereas the original really really skidded along that line sometimes.

[zerostasis]

Persona 4 Arena had a pretty cool story mode but it still falls a little flat for me. A little too much redundancy. It's still better than most fighting games by a long shot, but I'm yet to see the fighting game that truly "gets" it. The actual game's really fun. I poured a few hundred matches into the multiplayer. More than I have for any fighter in at least a few years.

Got around almost every character except MC and Eliz. I have to say, the story really does have the persona feel but the common endings feel like a hint for a sequel, either a foreshadowing for Persona 5 or probably another Persona Arena. Another Persona Arena is actually a little bit meh for me. But the idea of having the SEES and Investigation Team going for a crossover is sweet deal.

[Wry Guy]

A sequel is actually pretty unlikely. It would require Atlus and Arksys to work together for a second game, and this was a slow year for both teams. More than likely once they pick up more projects a collaboration would be a lot harder.

That and I think a lot of the motivation to make it was to create a brand for Persona 4, what with the fighting game, anime, movie (pretty sure there's a movie) and the new Vita game coming out soon.

So that in mind, maybe a Persona 5 Arena is possible?

[zerostasis]

Yes there is a movie. p4a_movie.jpg

Maybe Persona 4 Arena is just part of marketing ploy to bolster up Persona 4 name. But a good game with a Persona hook is just too sweet of a deal to let go of both Atlus and Arksys. Though I have to agree, doing collaborations is really a bit of a stress for both companies. Persona 5 Arena might not be a bad idea, and maybe they might just drop the number and make Persona Arena it's own standalone title. Then again all I can do is hope and receive more Persona.

By the way wacha guys think of this? ---> naoto.jpg

[Brightside]

Looks like us Europeans will have some solid info on a P4A release soon. The publisher has received the PS3 version of the game, and are now awaiting the 360 one. Once they have both, they can get it certified and give us a proper release date. Better late than never, right?

I seriously don't understand what's taken them so long. It can't be localisation issues, as the game will only ship in English. Maybe they've been changing every Americanism (hah)? Whatever the reason, it's ridiculous.

Apparently we'll be getting something to make up for it. Here's hoping for all the DLC to be bundled. Need dem glasses.

[vApathyv]

I've been playin' through Persona 4: Golden a lot lately. It's my first time ever playing a Persona game (outside of P4A) and I'm in love with it. Haven't beaten it yet but that's mostly because I wanna max out MC's level before doing so. I'm 100 hours in now and he's level 92, so I'm not too far off.

I also spent a lotta time making a super badass version of Izanagi. I know there's better Personas out there but I wanted to abuse the shit out of skill cards and the stat point shuffle time cards and make it to where I didn't need any other Personas in my life. This is what my Izanagi is now. Kinda sad that I can't ever find an Agidyne/Maragidyne card, but Maragion will do for now.

[Brightside]

It's always a little disappointing when the first persona is one of the coolest looking ones. Many of the other designs are so underwhelming.

[vApathyv]

Yeah, that's kinda the problem I had. Izanagi's design was so awesome that I really couldn't see myself using anything else. I kinda had that problem with the hour or so I played of P3P. I can't remember what that Persona's name was, but the starter in that game just looked super cool and I didn't wanna not use that.

[Brightside]

Yep. P3's starter was Orpheus. Looked really awesome. IIRC, you could fuse a super-Orpheus once you maxed out all your social-links. Had a bit of a pallet-swap going on, too. Red, maybe?

[vApathyv]

Huh, interesting. I know something about getting some super badass version of Izanagi if I do certain stuff in New Game+ in P4G, which I'm looking forward to. I haven't even finished the stuff to do the True Ending yet though, which I might hunker down and do today since I called out of work and such. Just debating on if I should keep leveling up in Magatsu place or just keep doing social link stuff so I can get the true end stuff taken care of. Either way, MC's at level 92 so he'll be 99 by the end of the game no matter what I do, most likely.

[Brightside]

Do what you gotta do for the true ending, I'd say. But that's just me. I hate grinding.

[vApathyv]

It's not even really a grind for me right now, it's actually enjoyable for me. I also kinda sorta told Dale North at MAGFest that I wasn't gonna finish my first playthrough 'til I hit 99. I can't betray that man.

It's weird though, this is the first time I've ever desired to hit max level in an RPG. It's also the easiest time I've ever had leveling. Not sure why it's so quick and painless to level up but I wish more RPGs did that. That's also probably why it doesn't feel like a grind for me though either.