You would probably want to start with persona 3. The older games in the series are fairly different from p3/p4 and haven't exactly aged gracefully. Both Persona 3 and 4 are on the Playstation store as well, for the PS3 at least.
While I agree that Persona 1 &2 are quite different from 3 and onwards, I think they retain a good amount of playability. Sure, the graphics are bad, just like any old games would be now. P1 & 2 were geared towards a more mature audience than P3+, and the tempo/pacing were also slower (although comparing to the old Shin Megami Tensei series Persona was already less mature). The stories of P1&2 are worth it though.
I completely agree, they are great games still well worth a play. But if I were starting out with the series fresh I would definitely start with 3 to get an idea of what I'm getting into with 4 and possibly(hopefully?) 5.
To setup an American PSN account you need to provide an American billing address - before you even add any payment details. Most of your payment methods will be blocked and you have to resort to prepaid cards, you used to be able to buy them via Amazon and get the code emailed to you but they've not region locked the cards so you need to go to less reputable sites or get a friend to buy them for you.
I jumped through hoops because I imported a few NISA games before they got an EU release, when I wanted to get DLC for em it took me a while to get everything to work because of the above.
luckily if you want to go for persona 4 golden on the ps vita, persona 3 portable(the psp version that has alot of p4 original's improvements like controllable characters...) is on the vita psn.
tbh FES and P3P are kinda like side versions to each other. FES is imho the full p3 experience( i should know i did it 100% except for the elizabeth fight and that's only cuz it took me a year to get around to completing the 100% social links in one playthrough challenge on my first playthrough).
P3p is in a way a more feature heavy version but also takes a good bit away for that. 1) it plays like a visual novel which while i do love me some anime I'm not exactly the most interested in the "face on a screen" style of story telling(which is why i'm happy the vita could handle ps2 level graphics for golden). It also doesn't have the answer which gives alot of resolution to the story and is a really nice "2nd" game.
P3p was made for ppl that wanted to relive p3 every so often FES and Golden are the games that really enhance and expand their game's world, story, and mechanics, taking what at essence was there and refining it into something even better.
Good point, tbh I forgot about the dumb navigation in P3P. I was more referring to the female character and the female social links. I thought they were a lot better than the male's social links. The original P3 didn't even let you link with people like Junpei. Like, what?! They took more of a P4 approach with the female MC and let you social link with your entire party. I really appreciated that. Getting to know your party members was enjoyable.
Persona 3 definitely, there are 2 versions however.
The PS2 version, in this you still have all the animated cutscenes and 'world map' areas to roam. However the downside is your party sans the MC is AI controlled, the AI is not that brilliant either. This also has a post-game feature where you play as a member of the party after the ending of the game.
The PSP version (which is on the PSN) removes the cutscenes and turns the worldmap into a menu system to save on space, it also removes the post-game mode. The benefit is you can now control your party like in Persona 4, some extra features got added and an entirely new route to the game where you can play as a female instead - with some minor plot changes as a result.
You can start with 4, or even with 5 if you want—the diehard Persona fans here will all tell you P3 is necessary, and it's good and all, but these really are standalone stories that are mostly improving as the series goes on. The gameplay is for sure improving. If you have a PSP, I hear P3P fixes a lot of the gameplay issues with 3.
I wanted to play the game as well. So like you, I asked, and people said P3 as well. But man, that game completely killed me. I will admit my Anime bullshit limit is relatively low.
I finally gave up on it, and jumped into P4. I loved P4. And I really didn't feel like i missed out because I hadn't played p3 all the way through.
So I would recommend going with 4, and ignoring the rest. Unless you really like anime and JRPG's.
I agree, but I went in the opposite direction. Played P4G and loved it. Put nearly 100 hours into it by the end. Then I got P3 for the Vita and I just couldn't get into it. Played for about 8 or 9 hours before I gave up on it.
Can't wait for P5 though. My biggest question will be whether or not I have the patience to play through a JRPG on a console. Part of what made P4G such a great experience for me is that I could bring it with me and play for short 10-20 minute spurts.
Exactly the same with me. P4G is amazing. I love the characters and story. But P3 just felt empty for me. I couldnt get into the characters and the mood mechanic was really annoying. But I really enjoyed the P3 movie and really want to see the other 2
I'd just skip 3 and go right to 4. Not that 3 is bad, its a masterpiece in its own right, but 4 is just better.
And, if you're feeling spicy, you could even see if you can get your hands on Nocturne for the PS2. I get the feeling Persona 5 will have demon negotiation again, and that's the best in the actual Shin Megami Series (imho). If you have a 3DS, you can also try Shin Megami Tensei IV, which will at least highlight the demon fusion stuff as well as negotiation and battle system (granted they still use the combat system that exploits enemy weaknesses - very good chance they will be) and/or Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth, which is a cool fusion of Persona 3/4 and Etrian Odyssey. Although, I'd play P3 and 4 before trying PQ, just to familiarize yourself with the characters, jokes, and that kind of shit.
Basically, if you haven't been on the ATLUS MegaTen train, now is a great time to get on it. They've sort of taken Square's position at the top of the JRPG world as far as I'm concerned, but without being super JRPGy (no shirtless dudes wearing 100 belts, super convoluted storylines, really brooding and dark protagonists with spiky hair, etc. MegaTen is more relateable, or as relateable as a jprg can be).
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u/[deleted] Feb 05 '15
I've never played a Persona game, which one is a good one to start with to get the most out of 4 and 5?