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Shin Megami Tensei and Persona

will we get a roundabout outro in the next game

everytime you save it just goes
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everytime you die, it automatically does the shooting star animation.
and no, you cannot skip it.
 
you gain the ability to drive a car, but go too fast or try to drift and you just get a random eurobeat song loudly overriding the music
 
As long as I feel like I'm in the anime race for my life and it makes me feel like I'm in the 90's again I'm game.
 
Atlus USA is localizing Caligula as The Caligula Effect and it's coming out in May. I haven't followed the game at all but it's written by Tadashi Satomi, (wrote Persona and the Persona 2 duology as well as the extra sequences in the PSP remakes) so that's cool.
 
Some Steelbook and Take Your Heart editions ordered from Amazon are being cancelled due to some sort of defect. Check ya emails fellas. I ordered mine from Gamestop so I dunno how it effects me.
 
From what I'm seeing it's not just Amazon. I hate steelbooks and got the regular edition anyway, so I might have dodged the bullet.

If this means people who ordered otherwise though aren't going to get the game on release or this results in another delay, that's pretty bullshit.
 
I ordered the Take Ya Heart edition. Sweatin bullets right now. It was probably the Phantom Thieves. They stole em. Those fucking teenagers.
 
I'm assuming the defect is with the steelbook itself since that's the only thing the two versions have in common other than the game disc itself, and I haven't seen any regular versions cancelled. Hope your order is fine.
 
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Aden said:
From what I'm seeing it's not just Amazon.

mMmMmM maybe not.

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This is weird. Just gimme my video game Atlus.
 
I thought I saw a post or two in the neogaf thread about their Best Buy order being cancelled. Maybe I misread, I don't know.
 
So I recently started replaying Persona 2: Innocent Sin and, holy shit, I'd forgotten how absolutely awful Tatsuya is. I never noticed it when I first played through but this might be my least favorite Megaten Protag.

On the other hand, I'd also forgotten how godlike Eikichi and Maya are.
 
no other protagonist can imitate motorcycle noises so beautifully
he's a strong boy
 
josshu said:
So I recently started replaying Persona 2: Innocent Sin and, holy shit, I'd forgotten how absolutely awful Tatsuya is. I never noticed it when I first played through but this might be my least favorite Megaten Protag.

On the other hand, I'd also forgotten how godlike Eikichi and Maya are.


Tatsuya's backstory is a hundred times better than Minato or the Persona 4 kid i forgot the name.

He's just edgy... 90s style
 
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So.

Only a few more days until we get the game that's not as good as Persona 4!

I'm hyped.
 
Really? I hadn't heard that P5 was lower than trash, quite the opposite really.
 
Complete the S. Link with your teacher to get the special ending where she gets arrested for statutory rape!
 
Dragonage2ftw said:
So.

Only a few more days until we get the game that's not as good as Persona 4!

I'm hyped.
Aden said:
Really? I hadn't heard that P5 was lower than trash, quite the opposite really.

I feel like this was a deliberate bait to get us shitting on Persona 4/newer Megami Tensei...

Only a matter of time until someone makes the wholly original observation that Kaneko should take charge again and return SMT to it's former glory.

(P.S I'm just saying guys, Kaneko should take charge and return SMT to its former glory!)
 
I mean, I still think P3 has one of the better stories in the whole franchise....Persona 4's plot and cast just felt like a step down. Nor horrible but not as quality as p3. I still think persona 2 has the best combat and story. In the persona series though so what do i know...
 
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North888 said:
I mean, I still think P3 has one of the better stories in the whole franchise....Persona 4's plot and cast just felt like a step down. Nor horrible but not as quality as p3. I still think persona 2 has the best combat and story. In the persona series though so what do i know...

Story is just tense enough to keep you wanting to know more about each char, right?

i'm not too fond of the combat, though. kinda slow and a bit convoluted. P3P's streamlined approach is pretty good, though.
 
I dunno, that focus on teamwork and fusion spells I really liked. I feel they could do more with it.
DukeMagus said:
i'm not too fond of the combat, though. kinda slow and a bit convoluted. P3P's streamlined approach is pretty good, though.

I don't really like portable for the way it presents the game. Locks out the other weapons and doesn't redesign enough of the bosses around the persona 4 version of persona 3's gameplay to keep the challenge. A lot of it ends up being easier and not always in a way that feels intentional. I prefer fes for that
 
Squire Grooktook said:
That's not an uncommon viewpoint for fans who are well acquainted with the franchise.
I have played basically every SMT game in the PS1 era and onwards so I'd say I'm fairly acquainted. I need to go back sometime and find a translated port of 1 and 2 to play...Oh and Strange Journey and IF (if that fan translation is ever finished). On another note, I've been thinking about my opinion on Persona 2 now that I'm deeper into the first of the two games again.

I mean, Persona 2 takes some misteps imo with how it handles both ends (the first one especially felt like a poor choice for the ending imo), and some of the characters just seem to immediately accept everything really quickly just to get the story moving on, but I like the angle it took. Feels like Persona 3 tried to keep some of that spirit going with what it did and 4 tried to take it in a new direction...to a mix of goods and bads. I still think mechanically 4 GOLDEN is the best, even in terms of some of the SMT standard mechanics, but I can't help but feel another game in the same style as Persona 2 could work ou the kinks...like speeding battles up, making the fusion spell system more diverse, simplify the buddy talk system so that its still funny and not a guessing game...

Oh and also give more sidequests to use that really cool rumor gimmick. It's dropped as soon as you hit the third act and I don't know where to go to get new and shiny weapons to keep my powered up. It feels like such a waste for such a cool mechanic that lets you customize how you want the RPG to treat you. Wanna grind? Go for more expensive shops that give better stuff. Want a more smooth transition between dungeons? Go for cheap or high sellback rate to keep your pockets in good health. I've only jotted down 2 sidequests so far that use the system and that bugs me...
 
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North888 said:
I mean, I still think P3 has one of the better stories in the whole franchise....Persona 4's plot and cast just felt like a step down. Nor horrible but not as quality as p3. I still think persona 2 has the best combat and story. In the persona series though so what do i know...
And you are correct.
 
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North888 said:
I mean, I still think P3 has one of the better stories in the whole franchise
I will also defend P3 on the grounds that it was a new direction, but aside from the rough edges it tried something new and had a lot of heart to it. I even liked the "not being able to control your party aside from general direction" idea. It's story was also really nice and kept me interested as things plodded along during the Winter.
 
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I think P3 has a few problems with its characterizations and some generally terrible villains
but it's honestly pretty uncommon to have a somber, mellow rpg when the game isn't laying the anime on too thick
was really neat when it came out but I think it aged a bit poorly (also the answer is and has always been traaaaaaaash)
 
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y-yeah...w-well your opinion is trash! Shut up I liked the Answer story Q_Q

My opinions are good I swear.
 
Persona 2 seems like it has the most ambitious story of any of the Persona franchise. I suppose that may be because it feels alot more like a Shin Megami Tensei game. Once the plot gets moving the characters are in perpetual motion, with the next antagonist/dungeon being revealed one after the other. This means Persona 2 ends up having a better paced, more involved story and since we dont have to worry if Tatsuya has studied enough to pass his math test, we dont have to see these characters live the more mundane parts of their lives.

That may have been the issue though, Persona 2 may have been TOO close to mainline. Devil Summoner (Raidou's branch), Digital Devil Saga, and Devil Survivor all feel more distinct from the mainline series to me. I couldn't really see myself accusing any of the games as being "Shin Megami Tensei-lite" (Not that I believe that's a valid way to describe Persona 2). So I can actually more than defend Persona 3 for stepping further away from the mainline series. What if a dark story were told in way that didn't overshadow and decimate the protagonist's lives? I like that a series has a group of characters who have to accomplish a goal of significant stakes without dropping everything in their lives. I absolutely don't want ALL my games to be that way, but I do like that Persona 3, Persona 4, and Persona 5 went there. Especially because it doesn't erase the excellent apocalyptic level stories of games like Nocturne and Strange Journey.

I think it's sad that the cash grab spin-offs and anime have made people completely forget that Persona 4 got dark. Worse, the spinoffs generally depict the characters as flatter, more 2-D versions of themselves. Frankly it seems like Persona 2, Persona 3, AND Persona 4 dance between happy go lucky fun times and self loathing, nihilistic, dread. Granted Persona 4 wasn't as dark as Persona 3 and nowhere as dark as Persona 2. But I guess because the battle theme was upbeat and the tone shifted between calm and cheerful to bizarre and dreadful (kinda like real life), the game must be all sunshine and rainbows! Nevermind the nihilism, gender dysphoria, existential crises, identity crises, sexual assault, and flippant murder for self amusement!

I feel like Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse betrayed its namesake far more than Persona 4 did.
 
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I still quite liked Apocalypse. It's a really solid game in terms of gameplay and does have interesting endings based on the route. I think it does more good as an SMT game than the first SMT 4 did (bullshit early difficulty and horrible pacing to tell you where you need to go).
 
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My biggest problem with Persona 3 & 4 is the silent protagonist.

Silent main dudes work well for lonely affairs like Dark Souls, story/plot driven affairs with little characters, and story-lite games with little of either. They do not work for games based around character interaction. You cannot have real character interactions when one character (and the one character whom we see the entire world through, at that) cannot interact and all the other characters have to talk at them. It seriously gimps all character interactions and chemistry because that is not the way human beings speak.

I know it's supposed to be you, but even (actual) dating sims know better and give the self-insert main guy some characterization, because they know it'll turn all the other characters into robots otherwise.




Also P3 lacks subtlety and P4's plot fucks itself in the end with the true villain/revelation being an asspull that has zero emotional effect on our characters.
 
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Squire Grooktook said:
My biggest problem with Persona 3 & 4 is the silent protagonist.

Silent main dudes work well for lonely affairs like Dark Souls, story/plot driven affairs with little characters, and story-lite games with little of either. They do not work for games based around character interaction. You cannot have real character interactions when one character (and the one character whom we see the entire world through, at that) cannot interact and all the other characters have to talk at them. It seriously gimps all character interactions and chemistry because that is not the way human beings speak.

I know it's supposed to be you, but even (actual) dating sims know better and give the self-insert main guy some characterization, because they know it'll turn all the other characters into robots otherwise.


Also P3 lacks subtlety and P4's plot fucks itself in the end with the true villain/revelation being an asspull that has zero emotional effect on our characters.

I totally agree there. Oddly this bugged me in Persona 2 more than in Persona 3 and Persona 4. In Persona 2 you start off as being one of the most popular guys in your school who's a loner, great in a fight, adored by women and envied by men. But since the protagonist is silent he never get to actually say or do anything to earn any of it, and it feels like its just piling on wish fulfillment without the player having to EARN those accolades. Most demons treat you like shit in SMT until you kill a few major players. You aren't regarded as popular in Persona 3 and 4 until you actually talk to a bunch of people and spend time with them.

Luckily Tatsuya has a way more detailed past and web of established relationships than the other protags but a backstory isnt a personality and context isnt characterization. I really wish Persona went all in and made their protagonist full characters who you just get to control and make minor decisions for. Especially since i've never, in ANY GAME, felt like the character I was controlling was me. Maybe a character that I have input on, sure but not me. My Demifend aligns with X, or My Chosen Undead fights with Y, but never ME. I'm curious how many people actually feel as through they are their character.
 
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I identify with my flying shmup lolis and space ships lol

Real answer: depends on my mood and the game itself. I can go either way. Often times I try to envision or create characters that are unique (this goes for rpg's, table top, game dev, etc.)
 
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i just think it's crazy that Persona has one game where you be fuckin' gay and it's the one that came out in 19-goddamn-99 and not the one that came out in 20-fuckin'-16
 
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That's because Jun's the best waifu this series has ever offered
 
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Ruin said:
i just think it's crazy that Persona has one game where you be fuckin' gay and it's the one that came out in 19-goddamn-99 and not the one that came out in 20-fuckin'-16

To be fair, you can be fuckin' gay in Persona 3 Portable in 2009. I interpret that less as Atlus being regressive and more as Tatsuya being bisexual whereas Yu is heterosexual.

Either way, it is bullshit that you just so happen to be able to romance any female in your age group but you dont have the choice to romance any male. I understand that it would seem forced if EVERY character in persona were bisexual, but frankly it already seems forced that EVERY female in persona is romantically available at all. I dont buy that characters like Mitsuru and Naoto have the time or patience for no Fools.

(D-did you see my arcana joke? I workshopped that for like 6 months, I hired ghost writers and everything)
 
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