Persona series.

[Demon-Mask]

So, I figured that I'd make a topic about the Persona series, because I figured a discussion about them was in order, seeing as one has already started from a tangent in another topic.

Well then, let's begin:
I enjoy the Persona series because of how unique each of the games is:
The first one is more traditional and grind-intensive, but still allowed you to talk your way out of a fight, and fuse personas.
The second one was released as two separate games, one that didn't make it across the Pacific, and one that did:
Innocent Sin didn't make it to America because of how strange it was, and how much the western world hated to important topics within the game:

The first one being a homosexual male character, seeing as a good portion of Americans were homophobic {even more so then they are now}, the fact that this would be a reason Atlus would be wary of bringing this one over is natural.

The second big one is Hitler. Unless a game is set during WWII, Hitler is sort of a taboo in video games. Now let's make it more than just Hitler though, he was resurrected, and had a very powerful persona, so he was really powerful, almost to the point of being cool.

There is an English patch of Innocent Sin that you can find, and it's pretty well done.

So far as the story goes, a mysterious figure known as Master Joker decides to mess up reality by turning rumor into fact, as punishment for a sin that no one remembers.

I never played too far into Eternal Punishment, but it has the same basic gameplay as Innocent Sin, the story is set a bit after Innocent Sin and is set in an alternate dimension, my guess is that this was done so America could get something of Persona 2, and if it was set in an alternate dimension, the homosexuality and Hitler didn't have to be mentioned.

The gameplay for both versions of Persona 2 is dramatically different from that of the first Persona. Instead of going by turn, characters just constantly repeat the attack command in battle, unless you interrupt this flow, in which case you can select the moves and that stuff. Enemies no longer gave spell cards, but tarot cards fitting the tarot deck's traditional arcana, and sometimes blank ones that could be made into any arcana you wish, you still had the option to talk your way through a fight.

Persona 3 is half social simulation, and half dungeon crawling RPG. There is only one dungeon, and it is called Tartarus. It only appears during a secret hour known as the Dark Hour, when most people turn into coffins {the game explains it a lot better than I could ever hope to}. Monsters known as Shadows roam around and kill people who aren't turned into coffins. Tartarus in their breeding ground. To use a persona, your character must shoot himself in the head with a fake gun known as an Evoker, it was cool the first time, but after seeing the animation and hearing the glass shatter sound effect for the hundredth time, you will hate it. Also, you could no longer talk your way through a fight.
This is one of the best games in the series, and also the game that really finalized the gameplay style of Persona.

I haven't yet played Persona 4, how is it?

I would find pictures and music for you, but it's getting late and stuff, so I am done for now, don't be surprised if you get a post from me, in this thread, not to long from when I post this, with a ton of pictures and videos.

It is now 1:39 A.M. {Pacific} and time for me to stop writing, before I stop thinking before I type.

[StarfoxFan2009]

Persona 4 is great. You get a lot more personas in that game than Persona 3.

[Seahawk]

I've only played Persona 3 and 4. These two games are the best RPGs in ages, easily the best on PS2. Better than Final Fantasy 10, 11, and 12 for sure.

Persona 4 is pretty much the same formula as Persona 3, except that instead of a fixed time limit that last the entire game, there are sections of the dungeon you must clear by a specific date, you will get game over, and time will go back one week so you can try again.

Also, unlike in Persona 3, going to the dungeon takes an entire day, rather than you getting free time at midnight.

That's the biggest change though, finding the ways to "optimize" how you spend your time, build your stats, and raise your social links, is still in full effect, if not more so.

[Demon-Mask]

You still had to find the best way to budget time in Persona 3, going into Tartarus took up your evening, which you could spend doing something to increase your social stats.

The first Persona is more traditional, except for the ability to talk your way out of a fight, you don't really build any relationships. You do have a lot of control over what happens in the first Persona, early on it is asked whether you want to go North or South, going North takes the story on it's main path, going south takes you into a much different take on the story. You can always choose to allow someone into your party or not, when you are asked, and there are plenty of story changing decisions left in the hands of the player.

It is also easily 40 or 50 hours long without spending a whole bunch of time grinding.

Does Persona 4 have a dungeon with more variance than Tartarus, I like Tartarus, but it all looks basically the same within one block of it, when you get to the next block, it looks different, but it gets to be familiar very quick.

Persona 3 Portable is even better than Persona 3 was the first time around. More Personas, the ability to choose a male or female protagonist {a decision which alters the story and social links somewhat dramatically}

( Click to show/hide )

The protagonist from the first Persona {not the crappy localized version released on the PSX as Revelations: Persona, but the properly localized version released on the PSP}
He has no default name, so the character officially doesn't have a name. He is referred to as "The Pierced Boy" {when Persona was first released in Japan, pierced ears were not common amongst male high-school students}

It is Hitler resurrected from Persona 2: Innocent Sin

( Click to show/hide )

Master Joker, the primary antagonist from Innocent Sin.
He breaks reality.

This is Igor, the only character to appear in all of the Persona games, he runs the Velvet Room and fuses Personas for the Protagonist. Up until Persona 3, he used a phone made of bone to fuse the Personas himself, in Persona 3 his servant, Elizabeth, takes care of the actual fusion.

The Velvet Room is in a place not affected by the flow of time, it is somewhere between consciousness and unconsciousness. Between reality and dream, between existence and not.
And it's blue.

[Seahawk]

Wow. Only in Japan would you ever see Hitler as the main character of a game. Yowzers.

In Persona 4, the blocks of Tartarus are replaced with different themed areas depending on the circumstances of the person you are trying to rescue at the time. I can go into more details if you want but right now I'm not sure if you want spoilers.

The "many small floors" of Tartarus are replaced with "fewer but larger floors". Also in some sections there are traps laid out, such as teleporting and random camera turning.

Also, the Velvet Room, is inside a limosine, instead of an elevator.

It's really too bad you didn't post this thread earlier in the day yesterday, I would have brought Persona 3 and 4 up to my college dorm to get get screenshots directly off of my PS2 for you.

[Demon-Mask]

Hitler was more of a secondary antagonist, but still pretty important.

I don't want spoilers, I plan on playing Persona 4, but It seems a lot less repetitive than 200-some odd floors of one dungeon with around six blocks of different designs.

The Velvet Room was only in an elevator in Persona 3, the only things that make it what it is are: It has a blue door, Igor is present, personas are fused/synthesized, and it doesn't really exist in a normal way. It is separate from time and space.