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Shin Megami Tensei and Persona

Ginko shits on every character past p2.

I'm done, goddamn philistines.
 
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Freedom versus responsibility?
like Persona 4?
I mean I really need to save Kanji but Band Practice and studying for tests
 
DeathArcana said:
Freedom versus responsibility?
like Persona 4?
I mean I really need to save Kanji but Band Practice and studying for tests
P4 seemed to be more about growing up in different ways from my perspective. I liked it for that. the more you grew as a person the stronger you and your allies became. just like real life.
 
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Jutsei said:
Well this escalated quickly.

*casts Graviga*

There.

Back to speculating! I feel weird about this, but I would kind of like it if the balls and chains were more than a symbol for the characters's anxiety and they literally meant that the students go to some kind of "Youth Correction Agency" and they are all deliciously bonkers and they get better over time as they learn to use these giant figures that come out of them to fight these weird shadowy things that are attacking their fair establishment.
 
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Sanoblaze said:
P4 seemed to be more about growing up in different ways from my perspective. I liked it for that. the more you grew as a person the stronger you and your allies became. just like real life.
If that's the theme of Persona 4 then I'm probably going to like Persona 3 more. Understanding Death and learning to accept it as an inevitability and not something to fear I feel is a much more ascendant subject than growing up.

Then again I hated high school and I like darker themes so that could explain my reasoning.
 
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Clawsome Bombs said:
*casts Graviga*

There.

Back to speculating! I feel weird about this, but I would kind of like it if the balls and chains were more than a symbol for the characters's anxiety and they literally meant that the students go to some kind of "Youth Correction Agency" and they are all deliciously bonkers and they get better over time as they learn to use these giant figures that come out of them to fight these weird shadowy things that are attacking their fair establishment.
I'm really looking forward to seeing what issues will be in P5.
They said it'd be "Cathartic", and you'd be glad to be free of whatever anxiety was holding people back.
If they cover anger issues or being not good at talking to people. Oh boy
 
As long as we ain't dealing with problems like the Scooby-Doo gang of Inaba did.
 
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Denizen said:
If that's the theme of Persona 4 then I'm probably going to like Persona 3 more. Understanding Death and learning to accept it as an inevitability and not something to fear I feel is a much more ascendant subject than growing up.

Of course I just like darker themes so that could explain it.
eh, I'm not really good at selling it. theres LOTS of different themes with the social links throughout the game. the drama club one was very touching. Dojima has the best hierophant story. and I prefer the quirky yet charming storylines of the main cast. they each are facing their own problems and they feel really personal. whether they be Kanji's questioning his sexuality, Rise wondering what she wants to do for herself, and even stuff like yosuke wondering what he wants to do with his life.

I was at a crossroads of my life when I played this after graduating in 09, and I picked this up and it really touched me in more ways than one. its my favorite persona because I was in the perfect mindset for it.

DDB said:
As long as we ain't dealing with problems like the Scooby-Doo gang of Inaba did.
Get the salt shaker out from your cheeks you salty butt.
 
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From what I said waaaaaaaaay back when this thread was just the P4A thread:

Clawsome Bombs said:
Well:

Yosuke: Bored of country life, ridiculed for being son of massive business thats putting everyone else out of business, lost Saki who he really liked (almost loved) then she died because lol Adachi so he actually feels the pain of the case he worked on. Then after she died, found out she didn't like him back, so that just made it worse.
Yukiko: No family business for her, feels like she is being caged but also afraid to leave everything she's ever known.
Kanji: Afraid of being rejected because of his feminine tendencies, slightly gender curious as a result (note that him being questionably gay was NOT his main problem)
Rise: Sick of putting on a happy face for her fans and has lost touch with who she really is.
Naoto: Same thing really, but with a "cool male" persona to try to compensate for being a schoolgirl. Tired of being treated like a kid all the time by adults.
Teddie: The fact that he is a Shadow haunts him and makes him question his existence, or if he even has one (I think this is the most serious out of the Investigation Team).

With P3 chars in P4A it's:
Mitsuru: Feeling guilty for her family's past crimes, also feels that she cannot trust anyone to do anything for her out of fear of losing them (same as not believing in anyone).
Akihiko: Lost his little sis Miki, so he trains to forget the pain of losing people. He does it non stop to dull the fact that he is afraid of losing someone ever again (also, DID YOU SEE THAT SHINJI)
Aigis: Like Teddie, she questions what she is doing trying to be human. The fact that she is "just a machine" bothers and stresses her out, even though she tries her best to fit in.
Fuuka: I honestly have no idea what her problem is. Somebody know this?
Yukari: Lost her father in the Kirijo Death Experiments, and that turned her mom into a whirlwind of dating different men, leaving her daughter in the dust (so emotionally losing her mother too). I think she has the biggest problem in the P3 cast.
Junpei: Insecure and not confident in himself, so he is jealous of others that aren't these things, tries to act like a hero so he can feel good.

It seems the P4 cast is more "fuck who am I" while Yosuke and two of the P3 cast is "why am I losing everyone, this sucks". It really ties in with the themes of the games what their problems are.
P4: Self conflict
P3: Accepting death/life
As to which group is more sad, I'd probably agree saying its the P3 cast but the problems in the Investigation Team aren't a walk in the park, either.

Yes, P3 problems were oh so awful, but P4 problems felt a little more real and you could relate to them. I mean P4 actually had the GALL to tackle the whole gay thing. That's pretty huge.

Almost forgot, Fuuka's problem, courtesy of THE pie:

theonlypie314 said:
If I remember right, Fuuka was shy and nervous around people. She was bullied although I can't remember why (I think it was due to the rumors of her being sick). She had feelings of isolation from her classmates. When she did become friends with Natsumi, even though she was one of the students who bullied her (Natsumi doesn't remember anything about this due to the events that happened in the Tartarus). Later in the game, Natsumi had to transfer to a new school. She told Fuuka that she changed because of her and wants to find out what she wants in life. She hope Fuuka does the same before she leaves. During that time, her persona changes to Juno.

Her persona was related to her desire to connect/stay connected with her friends.
 
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Clawsome Bombs said:
Yes, P3 problems were oh so awful, but P4 problems felt a little more real and you could relate to them. I mean P4 actually had the GALL to tackle the whole gay thing. That's pretty huge.
eh, well, more in terms of sexuality in general. since then kanji can be considered hetero, and the fanbase really seems to want to push him and naoto. face it they would make the cutest couple.

Also, REAL MEN cry when they think about Dojima's social link. same goes for women too. Dojima is the best hierophant.

also drama club was suprisingly very touching. Denizen would like it.
 
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Sanoblaze said:
I was at a crossroads of my life when I played this after graduating in 09, and I picked this up and it really touched me in more ways than one. its my favorite persona because I was in the perfect mindset for it.
I think I'm in the perfect mindset for Persona 3. After college I'm going to be pursuing some career paths that will most likely put my life in danger, like the military or paramilitary. If Persona 3 tackles the issues that I think it does then it will probably speak to me more than its sequel. I may have agreed with you 2 years ago, but I'm already past the point where Persona 4 would have spoken to me.

Shit man we should be Persona characters, oh wait I already am. Is Persona Q for the 3DS?
If it is then fuck, that's another system I have to buy.

I should grow my hair out again...
 
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Fuuka was told she was positively uncool disney channel style

so she ended up in tartarus and subconsciously sent the bullies to a bad fate
 
Clawsome Bombs said:
Back to speculating! I feel weird about this, but I would kind of like it if the balls and chains were more than a symbol for the characters's anxiety and they literally meant that the students go to some kind of "Youth Correction Agency" and they are all deliciously bonkers and they get better over time as they learn to use these giant figures that come out of them to fight these weird shadowy things that are attacking their fair establishment.
Just as long as the story isn't some pretentious 2edgy4u "Stick it to The Man" hogwash, I'm fine with whatever direction they'll go.


Sanoblaze said:
eh, I'm not really good at selling it. theres LOTS of different themes with the social links throughout the game. the drama club one was very touching. Dojima has the best hierophant story. and I prefer the quirky yet charming storylines of the main cast. they each are facing their own problems and they feel really personal. whether they be Kanji's questioning his sexuality, Rise wondering what she wants to do for herself, and even stuff like yosuke wondering what he wants to do with his life.
I feel the mundaneness of the issues folks dealt with was part of what made the overall story in 4 so good.
I really liked the Hanged Man S. Link though I suppose I might be in a very definite minority regarding that.
Also, Nurse Cougar. First you're just avoiding a sex offender and then BOOM! shit gets very weird very fast.
For the most part, my favorites were those of the main cast.
And sure, Sunny drama might be a better story but Sunny music is quicker to complete. EFFICIENCY!

Overall, IMHO the plot's greatest flaw was stacking one too many "Man Behind the Man". The copycat curve ball was great though.

Sanoblaze said:
I was at a crossroads of my life when I played this after graduating in 09, and I picked this up and it really touched me in more ways than one. its my favorite persona because I was in the perfect mindset for it.
I'd like to touch Yukiko in more ways than one. º3º

Clawsome Bombs said:
Fuuka's problem
Her problem is being voiced by Mamiko Noto, thus being better than everyone else around her.
 
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Sanoblaze said:
dont let ddb and dukemagus know you said that or they'll cry.

because they don't wanna admit P3 and P4 are leaps and bounds better than the first 2.

You had to push my buttons, didn't ya?

Well, like a strong-willed girl said once, HEERE WE GOO!

---

Persona 1 has good concepts crippled by a innovative but fatally rough battle system. And by god, kaneko's character art by that time was horrible. Thank the good lord of photoshoppe that Atlus started giving digital treatment to his art after that game.

The Persona 2 duology has better plot, characters, conflicts, and in these 3 points it makes Persona 3 (and possibly 4) cry alone in a corner. Tatsuya alone has a bigger and more engaging/dramatic conflict than all the Persona 4 cast together. The battle system has lot of potential, but it's too clunky.

Persona 3 Has a simplers system and innovates with the datesim mechanics, but the plot and characters themselves are just too "tame" and the conflicts are more cliché than it should. and by all the gods and demons Kaneko drew, THE PLOT ADVANCES TOO SLOWLY! sometimes you are just forced to spend 10-15 game days with social links because nothing important happens! al that while 3 or 4 tartarus runs gets you strong enough for the next boss.

Seriously, where persona 1 and 2 are something like Nosferatu or bram stoker's dracula, P3 is Twilight or Buffy the vampire slayer: takes the good ideas, but fill it with anything that can make it more "pop" and easier to swallow. Hence the giantic fanbase. Of course, that doesn't mean one is better than another. the old dracula book can be pretty tedious sometimes.

One example: In persona 2, one of the characters has a serious conflict with their parent, the other compets with his own older brother for the love of the same woman and the comic duo defies their parents looking for identity. This makes key moments in the plot, and are things that teenagers really have to pass to grow up.

Persona 3 has 4 orphans, Mitsuru's family is extremely powerful, Junpei states that his father suffers from alcoholism, And yukari's father was a legendary scapegoat. They barely touch such a rich matter. MP doesn't care (that's to be expected), Akihiko and Shinjiro never looked for a father figure or missed one, Mitsuru's father is the only super-cool company lord ever and Ken, that saw his mother dying rarely shows some emotion about it. just the "revenge lost and it's all done". Only yukari shows some emotion on that matter.

Haven't played persona 4, but as far as i can tell (by persona 4 arena and spoilers all over the net) they tried to do something bold with kanji and naoto's conflicts... aaand chickened out to avoid any conflict with the fanbase.
 
DukeMagus said:
You had to push my buttons, didn't ya?

Well, like a strong-willed girl said once, HEERE WE GOO!

---

Persona 1 has good concepts crippled by a innovative but fatally rough battle system. And by god, kaneko's character art by that time was horrible. Thank the good lord of photoshoppe that Atlus started giving digital treatment to his art after that game.

The Persona 2 duology has better plot, characters, conflicts, and in these 3 points it makes Persona 3 (and possibly 4) cry alone in a corner. Tatsuya alone has a bigger and more engaging/dramatic conflict than all the Persona 4 cast together. The battle system has lot of potential, but it's too clunky.

Persona 3 Has a simplers system and innovates with the datesim mechanics, but the plot and characters themselves are just too "tame" and the conflicts are more cliché than it should. and by all the gods and demons Kaneko drew, THE PLOT ADVANCES TOO SLOWLY! sometimes you are just forced to spend 10-15 game days with social links because nothing important happens! al that while 3 or 4 tartarus runs gets you strong enough for the next boss.

Seriously, where persona 1 and 2 are something like Nosferatu or bram stoker's dracula, P3 is Twilight or Buffy the vampire slayer: takes the good ideas, but fill it with anything that can make it more "pop" and easier to swallow. Hence the giantic fanbase. Of course, that doesn't mean one is better than another. the old dracula book can be pretty tedious sometimes.

One example: In persona 2, one of the characters has a serious conflict with their parent, the other compets with his own older brother for the love of the same woman and the comic duo defies their parents looking for identity. This makes key moments in the plot, and are things that teenagers really have to pass to grow up.

Persona 3 has 4 orphans, Mitsuru's family is extremely powerful, Junpei states that his father suffers from alcoholism, And yukari's father was a legendary scapegoat. They barely touch such a rich matter. MP doesn't care (that's to be expected), Akihiko and Shinjiro never looked for a father figure or missed one, Mitsuru's father is the only super-cool company lord ever and Ken, that saw his mother dying rarely shows some emotion about it. just the "revenge lost and it's all done". Only yukari shows some emotion on that matter.

Haven't played persona 4, but as far as i can tell (by persona 4 arena and spoilers all over the net) they tried to do something bold with kanji and naoto's conflicts... aaand chickened out to avoid any conflict with the fanbase.
dude, I was kidding. and you fucking called Persona 3 to twilight. okay. nope. we're done. i refuse to talk to you anymore. nope. no more. you lost me. I refuse to read anymore. you lost me now and forever. dont bother responding. I won't care. the social link with me is gone now and forever. dont bother starting a new game.

edit:

I'M SO ANGRY AT THAT COMPARISON! I IGNORED YOU!

edit edit:

also, if you havent noticed already, I never have, nor will I probably ever give a shit about who makes the art for the game.
 
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so like, is everyone gonna hate p5 or what
 
Junpei spends the whole f***ing game trying to get a chick and almost digs a trap
Akihiko is excessively pale and has an army of teenage girls with boiling hormones circling him every now and then
And fuuka is as bland as the twilight girl.
SOOO it fits

(implied trolling if anyone STILL didn't got it)

Back on pushing the right buttons and talking seriously about persona.

i believe the main theme of the persona series as a whole is Escapism.

Each game has a main has its central event (and theme) related to avoiding facing something

Persona 1 is about Escaping Reality (creating a reality of its own)
Persona 2 is about Escaping Responsibility for the consequences of your actions, be them on purpose or not (creating a whole set of traumas and even destroys the world, forcing the creation of an alternate reality just so a single man doesn't need to accept that the one she loved died by the stupid actions of him and his friends)

Persona 3 is about Escaping Life and the burdens of it (Apathy syndrome wasn't really "adding" something evil on people, just removing their will to do anything. their will to LIVE)
Haven't played persona 4, so i leave this one for you.

Persona 5 might be about escaping the Responsibilities for your freedom, your power, or the obligations you have because of what you are... defying the "Noblesse oblige". Hell, what if the Main characters can give up being good, break any moral shackle and use their persona to actually screw the world?!

CHOICES WOULD BE RELEVANT AGAIN! and THIS would make me hype as hell
 
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Clawsome Bombs said:
so like, is everyone gonna hate p5 or what
if it has any of the mechanics from p1 I will drop it like a fucking lead balloon. otherwise, I will probably love it.

edit:

just so everyone is aware, I do NOT mind it being more serious, but I do not want to see the battle mechanic, social link mechanic, NOR the fusion mechanics changed in any way shape or form. they're perfect as is.
 
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I hope persona 5 has a better story, but improved social and gameplay features
 
Jutsei said:
So much negative energy in this thread lately.
I'm gonna like it because if ti's indeed associated with anger and breaking free from things, it'll speak to me very deeply on an emotional level.

You know what would be funny?

If someone made a "Shadow Thread" of this one and just put nasty stuff in it about how everything after P2 is a sham and isn't actually fun nor a good gaming experience.


Mods will probably kill it, but it'll be interesting.


When P4A:USH comes to NA, we could even have online tournaments with this thread vs that one, and the other thread is only allowed to use Shadow characters and PerSHOna.

Hell, make one for the Pokemon thread so the Genwunners have somewhere to go.
 
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DukeMagus said:
Persona 3 is about Escaping Life and the burdens of it (Apathy syndrome wasn't really "adding" something evil on people, just removing their will to do anything. their will to LIVE)
Haven't played persona 4, so i leave this one for you.
dude, did you not see all the posts we had about how its accepting death and understanding that life moves on?

and again, P4 is about that stage in your life where you try to figure out who you are and where you stand in your life. and P4 has a special place for me because of it.
 
nononono, we're talking about the same thing but in different periods. i'm talking about conflict, you guys discussed about the meaning/lesson AFTER the conflict.

in the end, it is about accepting death. But the whole shadows and apathy syndrom are the manifestation of people's losing the will to live.
 
For some reason, I'm now wondering what would happen if Nanako and Yu swapped roles in P4.
 
shoryusatsu999 said:
For some reason, I'm now wondering what would happen if Nanako and Yu swapped roles in P4.
Well, I can guarantee the Hierophant story in P4 would either be with someone else, or we'd have the most touching father daughter moment in JRPG history.

Either way I want more of the Dojima family's daily lives.
 
Little Nendoroid Aegis is available for pre-order on Play Asia for $42.99 US
144353.jpg


http://www.play-asia.com/nendoroid-385-persona-3-aigis-p3-edition-paOS-13-49-en-70-7by9.html
 
I so cannot wait for the english voices to be shown with the game. the guessing for who would be best to play Sho is really killing me!
 
Hope she's got Grief Seeds in that hat. Otherwise, things could get very messy, and incredibly non-Euclidean.
 
Jutsei said:
Oh dear motherfucking lord.
Welp, there it goes. Manliness I can't have you after the sound I made.

I'll be right next to you in the Man Card Renewal Line. I imagined a whole game centered around Nanako and her detective adventures and let out the girliest sound in existence.
 
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Sanoblaze said:
Them girly sounds is the man inside you pushing away any and all little girl inhibitions to make room for the swelling manly man manhood within your soul.
I nominate Sanoblaze for Alex Louis Armstrong of Skullheart.

Still though, good lord.
I need to find more art like that.
 
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