Persona 4 (Official Topic)

Nearly completed Persona 4...

Ikana said:

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What, one final boss isn't enough? I FINALLY beat Adachi, and they throw a bloody great eyeball at me without letting me save or heal? :< Not happy. I'll try again tomorrow. >.<

SuperLink said:

Ikana said:

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What, one final boss isn't enough? I FINALLY beat Adachi, and they throw a bloody great eyeball at me without letting me save or heal? :< Not happy. I'll try again tomorrow. >.<

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Amano-Sagiri isn't actually that hard, he just takes a long time to beat. Also watch out for his lazerbeams. And the music for that boss battle is amazing.

PS, do everything you can at the game's conclusion, even if it means double checking everything. It'll be worth it

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Yeah, I can tell it's not that hard, I managed to knock off half it's HP before it killed me, but I had practically no SP left after Adachi... At least now I know to conserve it if I can during the first battle then... Will make sure I'm stocked up on decent items too.

Determined to finish this game soon so I can get on with the last case of Ace Attorney Investigations. What level do you recommend I should be at for the final boss anyway? I'm at Lv77, with the rest of my party at Lv73...

Ah christ.

Played this game for the first time in about 8 or 9 months today and I don't know how I can possibly get back into it now. I've almost forgotten how to play.

I got to the Secret Base dungeon and I absolutely loved playing it. Can't remember why I stopped in particular, but I think it's because I found the enemies in there a little difficult and I just gave up for too long.

Anyway, tried playing it today and got my arse whooped in like my second battle. I'd forgotten so much that I changed my other characters to be controlled by the AI instead, seeing as I didn't know what things meant or what to do :/

I'm really not sure how to get back into this game, even though I really want to see it out. Don't think I ever truly worked out how to make the most of fusing personas either.

And with 52 hours played, I don't wanna have to start a new game to get into it again. Dammit.

And this is my announcement that I've gotten back into playing FES. I WILL get Telos!

Epic bump!

So I'm looking to bolster my PS2 collection and am thinking of getting a copy of this. Can someone give me a quick rundown of what it's like, the kind of RPG it is, etc.

First of all, if you like turn based RPGs, you'll love this. I knew nothing of the Persona series when I played it, but I love it.

It starts very slow. Like, you don't get to really do much until 3 hours in. But don't let that put you off. Stick with it for a few hours and then see how it goes.

You mainly just wander around your school, town, home on a calendar basis, with certain events happening on certain days. Speaking to your friends, and doing events with them raises your relationship level with them, which in turn increases your ability to create strong summons (or personas). Uses these personas to perform new abilities in battle.

In the dungeons you play in, you have to clear them in a certain amount of in-game days, but there's always plenty of time. On the days prior, you can boost your relationship levels or simply grind in dungeons. You see the enemies on the field and go into turn-based battles. You can have your other 3 party members be AI controlled, or control them yourself.

There's no Japanese VA, but don't get put off. I actually think this has some of the best English dubbing in a game.

It's quirky as hell. All sorts of weird and funny themes apply in the game's story. Also has an awesome soundtrack, which you'll dig for sure. I haven't finished it unfortunately. Clocked nearly 70 hours and found the second to last dungeon enemies to get the better of me, so I might have needed to either grind more or produce better personas (I don't think I dived into the persona mechanic very well). So this is on my list of games to beat at some point.

Overall, it's an awesome turn based JRPG. Get it.

I have Persona 3 FES which I haven't played yet, but judging from this review Persona 4's worth it.

Ah, that reminds me how annoying it could get in battles sometimes, because that one weird character (Ted or something) would comment after many actions, like the ones in the review Stu posted - "Yuki-chan's in danger! Help, someone!" etc. So whilst for the most part the English dub was great, there are obviously annoying parts. There are a lot of funny moments though.

Damn, you bumped this topic at the right time, Phoe!

Atlus have revealed a teaser website:

http://p-atlus.jp/

This has to be P4 related. P4 Portable perhaps? Fuck, whatever console this is on, I may have to get it.

( Edited 25.08.2011 13:39 by Azuardo )

Yeah, thanks to your postup I've pretty much decided to go for this, but I've always preferred RPGs on Handhelds so I wait and see what comes of this announcement.

If it ends up being for Vita, you might as well get the PS2 version though. It was only a tenner when it came out, which was a bargain. It goes for more than that now. But worth every penny.

Yup, turned out to be a Vita port/remake. Since I don't plan on getting one of those for a few years yet, I'll be picking up the PS2 game instead. Will post impressions. ^^

The fact is, the game won't come out till about 2013 here anyway, so you're completely right getting it on PS2. Having looked at all the Vita remake info on it though, it's really made me want to replay and finally beat it. It's a quality game, certainly one of the best RPGs I've played. So yeah, definitely get it and post how you get on! I'd like to do the same but wish I had the time.

( Edited 06.09.2011 21:00 by Azuardo )

DAMN YOU GUYS MAKING ME LOG BACK IN.

Azu, that site you linked is actually the Persona Portal site that links to all the other Persona games.

Since you all have already heard about the Vita remake, I'll just let you all know about the Persona 4 anime coming up this...October I think? Also, PERSONA FIGHTING GAME MADE BY THE BLAZBLUE PEOPLE.

At the time I posted it, it was a teaser for the Vita P4 remake. It now links to the Persona games and the newly announced Vita game plus the fighting game.

I really need to beat it and actually wouldn't mind trying to get into the anime haha

Finally got the game through the post a couple of days ago. Drummed up a few hours play and thought I'd post impressions.

It's...unique, I suppose is the best word for it. At the beginning for the first few calendar days it felt like one continuous cutscene. I liked how the characters were introduced, the idea of the Midnight Channel and the premise of the other world, but the game was rather slow to get going. And there only being one save point between half-an-hour events was rather shitty.

But now the game's opened up, I'm enjoying it a lot more. The way you have to schedule events ahead as not to avoid the fog arriving at a critical moment is surprisingly well done, the game feels realistic in a sense, despite being, well, a game. Battles are quick, instantaneous, and I love the Rush command, all turn-based RPGs should have that assigned to a button.

Persona 4 is definitely one of the more unusual games I've played, and I look forward to completing it. If the calendar does indeed go a year I can see why it lasted so many hours for you guys. ^^

Oh, btw, when you're exploring outside of the world inside the television, that bar in the bottom-left of the screen, is that meant to be a location indicator or something? It's blank when I use the game on my PS3 but I'm sure something's meant to be there. That's the only problem thus far I'm happy to say.

Yep, warned you about the long introduction. Gotta persuade people to really persevere and see it through. Once it opens up, it's great.

As for that bar at the bottom left, that should be telling you your location, yeah. Like, Living Room, Class Room 2-2, etc.

Glad you're enjoying it so far though! I'm sad to have stopped where I did. Rather than start a new game I'd probably just need some tips for personas or tactics to get through. I struggled against some of the enemies in the second to last dungeon and got put off. But yeah, racked up nearly 70 hours which is quite a shift to just throw away and start again from. Maybe if you get further than me you could throw some tips my way! Might have a look online too though.

Ello peeps, can any willing Persona masters lend some advice?

I'm up to the Sauna levels, and just outside the main boss room, but I'm having trouble with it. Kanji's Shadow has two helpers, one seems to absorb damage and the other takes it. Is it one of the 'zombie'-like situations where I have to heal the foe instead of attack to actually damage him?

Any advice on weaknesses etc would be appreciated, I'm having to train on the floor below as there're only a few days left until the fog, those guys attacks are too strong. >.< I'm at L23 right now.

Wish I could help but don't remember much about how to deal with specific bosses. All I remember is that a lot of them were stupidly tough. Difficulty jumps in the game can be ridiculous. Only thing I can suggest is to use some guides on how to best deal with the boss.

How you getting on with P4 then, Phoe? Enjoying it? Finding it hard/easy? Fave characters?

Oh god, I really need to do a writeup. Every spare second of gaming time I get has been on this badboy. Beat that boss that was troubling me, he was quite easy after some leveling up.

Got the night off work, so I'll type up more later. Awesome game though, love it.

Great stuff. Was curious to see how you'd deal with it. Whether it was a case of just grinding or making new and better personas. In some ways, I cba going back to the game if I'm just having to grind to get past the part I'm stuck at. But I also didn't dive into the persona-creating thing as much as I should have, so wouldn't really know where to begin with what personas I'd need. If I get round to it, might try to use a guide to finish off, but I'm thinking a new game might be the answer, and follow a guide all the way through (but again, I cba having to fight random battles and grind through a new game again after all the effort I put in last time...).

Grinding isn't really necessary as long as you fight all the battles you come across. From what I hear its only the first few bosses that are the toughest for the point in the game that you meet them. I'm expecting to breeze through the rest now.

Okie dokie, writeup time. Introduction was way too long, no getting past that. The characters and setting were introduced well, but the game took too long in bringing in battle and socializing mechanics, and it wouldn't have surprised me if potential fans were put off by it.
That said though, when Persona 4 gets going, it is easily one of the most unique RPGs you'll ever play (and trust me, I've played a fair few ). Battle isn't anything special; standard turn-based fare with a satisfying gang-up combo I love pulling off. The Personas and the abilities they bring means fighting rarely gets boring; figuring out your enemies' weaknesses and striking them down passes the time nicely.
Exploration through the dungeons is something else I'll mention. Whilst I'm not too fussed about the 'identical corridors' labyrinths that each one is themed from, I'm a bit iffy with how you initiate battle. The deal is that you strike the enemy in the back to gain an extra turn in the fight with it, and vice versa if it hits you. This is really flimsy with me; there is an extremely small window for a back strike, and for some reason they can sometimes get a extra turn just from hitting you from the front. Not a major issue personally, I still win anyway, but it can be an aggravation at times.
The Social aspect is probably what I like best about the game, what really sets it apart. The links you forge by strengthening relationships with others to ultimately power up Persona creations is a great incentive to see everything the game has to offer, and the writing and characterisation is top notch. Managing your time effectively with activities and jobs makes the game feel almost alive, like its some kind of second life, and it never gets boring due to breaking up the social with the dungeon exploration, and the other way round. And if the fact that I'm only a few months into the timeline is any indication, this has to be one of the most content-packed PS2 discs I've seen yet. Vita buyers have one hell of a treat when this hits it.

I've enjoyed the comedy aspect too; couldn't stop laughing when the group went camping as a class and ended up in a freezing-cold river with the abusive alcoholic teacher throwing up upstream.

Have just initiated the third dungeon, so am now working through that one (my kinda place ). Am also trying to get my main character together with Yukiko, long straight hair is my weakness.

( Edited 22.09.2011 20:15 by Phoenixus )

Yeah, I like how you feel so much a part of the game, and I think the silent protagonist helps generate that. It's cool how you continue to play out your normal school life in the day, boosting your relationships, playing football, then in the evening you go to the fantasy TV world and kick ass with golf clubs and demons, smashing up weird freaky monsters. Then you go home and hit the bed to do another school day, your uncle, neighbours and teachers none the wiser.

Third dungeon is the strip club right? I remember loving the music in there. Whole game has some great music.

I hooked up with Chie ;3