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Which way to go for Persona 3?

Cyberninja776

Cyberninja776

Member
Oct 28, 2017
542
If you only have a Vita and PS4, you don't lose that much playing P3P as your only playthrough, because of all the quality of life additions you get as a trade off from not playing FES. But if you really want FES go to a pawn shop and you could probably get a PS2 for $30 max if you still have a tv with the proper cable ports.

That being said I'd pick Option 4 from your OP any day of the week, P2 is one of my all time favorite games.
 
kenta

kenta

Member
Oct 25, 2017
857
I had this same dilemma for years! Last month I finally decided to just screw it and play FES, I've been really happy with that choice.

However!

A few weeks ago, a group of Persona modders released this: a tweak to P3F that enabled controllable party members! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rS_YQ7wPhvY

I play on a softmodded PS2 so I had to figure out how to get the "cheat" file linked in the description applied to my ISO of the game, which was a huge hassle, so I went ahead and made a shortcut for anyone else that wants to do it: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/143149937247387649/413763332521197568/p3f_ppp.xdelta

That link is an xdelta file which you can apply to your own ISO of the game -- I can walk you through it if you need help. But once you apply that patch there's nothing else you need to do, it simply lets you control everyone in your party. I've been playing with the patch for the last 25% of the game (since in-game October) and haven't encountered any glitches or bugs. It's the best

If you plan on playing via some method that would allow you to use your own ISO of the game (emulation or softmodded PS2), it's absolutely the best way to play the game

Edit: Please note that I own several copies of this game and am not discussing piracy -- I've dumped my own ISOs and PS2 BIOS and everything
 
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Mechaplum

Mechaplum

Enlightened
Member
Oct 26, 2017
18,827
JP
Cyberninja776 said:
If you only have a Vita and PS4, you don't lose that much playing P3P as your only playthrough, because of all the quality of life additions you get as a trade off from not playing FES. But if you really want FES go to a pawn shop and you could probably get a PS2 for $30 max if you still have a tv with the proper cable ports.

That being said I'd pick Option 4 from your OP any day of the week, P2 is one of my all time favorite games.
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Unfortunately don't have a tv with legacy ports. I think I will give FES about 5 hours or so to see if I can live with the downsides.
 
Pause

Pause

Member
Feb 22, 2018
1,278
You have to play Persona 3. Portable's the best. The inability to walk around is honestly no big deal. The FeMC is so much better than the male by an order of magnitudes; there's a better selection of social links, the new social links are better and give support to major characters like party members, that for some reason didn't have links before. They removed the weird thing where if you wanted to max out the female social links you absolutely had to date them, and you can finally control your party members. You can play FES if you want a bit more of a cinematic experience, but Portable is vastly superior for the FeMC alone.

3 is so good though, so don't skip it. Play or watch 2 eventually, that's also extremely good but in a much different way
 
Kumomeme

Kumomeme

Banned
Nov 6, 2017
668
Malaysia
go with P3 Fes

P3P already cut tons of gameplay aspect,in other words it lack of gameplay experiences
also,Female MC route is for veteran player

Finished P3 Fes first then go for Female MC route on P3P

Unable to control member actually not big issue if you know how to manage though
 
twentytwo22

twentytwo22

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,529
This is such a tough question when it comes up because there is no easy answer. I say play FES but you can't go wrong with the PSP version.
 
Dreamboum

Dreamboum

Member
Oct 28, 2017
22,865
kenta said:
I had this same dilemma for years! Last month I finally decided to just screw it and play FES, I've been really happy with that choice.

However!

A few weeks ago, a group of Persona modders released this: a tweak to P3F that enabled controllable party members! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rS_YQ7wPhvY

I play on a softmodded PS2 so I had to figure out how to get the "cheat" file linked in the description applied to my ISO of the game, which was a huge hassle, so I went ahead and made a shortcut for anyone else that wants to do it: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/143149937247387649/413763332521197568/p3f_ppp.xdelta

That link is an xdelta file which you can apply to your own ISO of the game -- I can walk you through it if you need help. But once you apply that patch there's nothing else you need to do, it simply lets you control everyone in your party. I've been playing with the patch for the last 25% of the game (since in-game October) and haven't encountered any glitches or bugs. It's the best

If you plan on playing via some method that would allow you to use your own ISO of the game (emulation or softmodded PS2), it's absolutely the best way to play the game

Edit: Please note that I own several copies of this game and am not discussing piracy -- I've dumped my own ISOs and PS2 BIOS and everything
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

thank you for that
 
Inugami

Inugami

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,995
I sometimes feel like I'm the only person who likes that you don't control every character individually. Heck, I even set my party to auto play in P5. You just have to set their style in the menu and not ever use Mitsuru who's haughty and not at all enjoyable to have on your team anyways.
 
ara

ara

Member
Oct 26, 2017
13,018
KojiKnight said:
I sometimes feel like I'm the only person who likes that you don't control every character individually. Heck, I even set my party to auto play in P5. You just have to set their style in the menu and not ever use Mitsuru who's haughty and not at all enjoyable to have on your team anyways.
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I love it. For me it reinforces the fact that I'm playing the main character and the rest of the characters are just the MC's pals who decided to come along. Just makes it easier for me to get immersed and get lost in the story. If an RPG has optional AI modes for the party members, I almost always toggle them on for everyone but the main character/the character I created.

I get why people find it frustrating in hard as nails games, but hardcore difficulty is not what I look for in RPGs like this, so I don't mind dropping the game down on easy or whatever.
 
Dogui

Dogui

Member
Oct 28, 2017
8,813
Brazil
Only played FES and absolutely love it, but i would rather play P3P just to have total control of the party members. It can be REALLY frustrating when you need cure but the ally will do some other shit.

You will lose eventual anime cutscenes, but i don't think they count that much for the enjoyment of the story.
 

Vault

â–˛ Legend â–˛
Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,618
I was a FES man until Yukari was charmed and healed the final boss up to full health after a 1 hour fight
 
JCal

JCal

Member
Oct 27, 2017
8,352
Los Alfheim
I played Persona 3, for the first time, last year. I was initially playing P3P. Played it for 2-3 days, was instantly hooked, but did some research on P3 FES. Hooked up my PS3 and started a FES playthrough. Played it ~300 hours.

It might be annoying to go back to AI party members after playing the recent titles (I don't mind it), but I'd recommend P3 FES regardless. P3P has some cool little extras, but your first run has to be on FES or the remake (if you wait another 10 years).
 
ShadowMurloc

ShadowMurloc

Member
Oct 30, 2017
186
Sydney Australia
It's hard to recommend one over the other. Neither is the definitive version like P4G.

I have FES on PS3 which I never put much time into because I put so much time into Portable. I feel these games are well suited to handheld gaming, hopefully one day we see a Switch version with the best bits of both games
 
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OP
Mechaplum

Mechaplum

Enlightened
Member
Oct 26, 2017
18,827
JP
Vault said:
I was a FES man until Yukari was charmed and healed the final boss up to full health after a 1 hour fight
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Holy christ on a pushbike...that would have broken me.

Mauricio_Magus said:
Portable is just fantastic, I'd never go back to FES.

Also Female MC is superior by a mile.
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So many of you were touting the FeMC, it's making me genuinely curious! Never even considered it before as I always go with the male option in games by default.
 
Mendrox

Mendrox

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
9,439
P3FES is a slog. Play P3P

The graphics are shit and walking around town just takes time You can finish P3P easily twice in the same time it takes P3FES to finish. Also better gameplay and the FemMC is way better
 
Mendrox

Mendrox

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
9,439
KojiKnight said:
Yeah the psp game is not better here.

If you didn't hate Junpei before, him creeping hard on you will definitely change your mind. It's still the same game, and FeMC is good on a second playthrough... But she's not worth all you lose in FES.
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I wanted to say that both look like shit nowadays so it doesn't matter. P3P though does not waste your time with meaningless running around and all. And lord FES is the worst grind in any Persona game for worthless story additions. FES makes me angry thinking about finishing the FES part urgh..
 
Chasing

Chasing

The Fallen
Oct 26, 2017
10,717
Mechaplum said:
So many of you were touting the FeMC, it's making me genuinely curious! Never even considered it before as I always go with the male option in games by default.
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I came off P3P feeling that the FeMC playthrough is a solid experience that offers enough variation from the original, but I also felt like a lot of what made it good works better off retrospect after you've already experienced P3 once in some manner. P3P even outright recommends new players to try the male perspective first.

Asides from that, general presentation issues and the lack of the extra "The Answer" chapter makes me hesitate to recommend P3P as your first dive into the game.

Frankly when I put together the pros and cons of each, FES should always be your entry point to P3, with an additional playthrough of the FeMC P3P route if you're still up for more.
 
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Mechaplum

Mechaplum

Enlightened
Member
Oct 26, 2017
18,827
JP
KojiKnight said:
Yeah the psp game is not better here.

If you didn't hate Junpei before, him creeping hard on you will definitely change your mind. It's still the same game, and FeMC is good on a second playthrough... But she's not worth all you lose in FES.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

That's going to feel a bit weird but can handle it if its written well.

Chasing said:
Frankly when I put together the pros and cons of each, FES should always be your entry point to P3, with an additional playthrough of the FeMC P3P route if you're still up for more.
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Yeah I'll probably go for FES first. There's an even chance my LTTP is going to be filled with adoration or unbridled rage.
 
nogoodnamesleft

nogoodnamesleft

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,665
FES for the full persona experience. P3P once you finish it if you want a cute little watered down version of it (still worth playing)
 
Einherjer

Einherjer

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
2,924
Germany
kenta said:
I had this same dilemma for years! Last month I finally decided to just screw it and play FES, I've been really happy with that choice.

However!

A few weeks ago, a group of Persona modders released this: a tweak to P3F that enabled controllable party members! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rS_YQ7wPhvY

I play on a softmodded PS2 so I had to figure out how to get the "cheat" file linked in the description applied to my ISO of the game, which was a huge hassle, so I went ahead and made a shortcut for anyone else that wants to do it: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/143149937247387649/413763332521197568/p3f_ppp.xdelta

That link is an xdelta file which you can apply to your own ISO of the game -- I can walk you through it if you need help. But once you apply that patch there's nothing else you need to do, it simply lets you control everyone in your party. I've been playing with the patch for the last 25% of the game (since in-game October) and haven't encountered any glitches or bugs. It's the best

If you plan on playing via some method that would allow you to use your own ISO of the game (emulation or softmodded PS2), it's absolutely the best way to play the game

Edit: Please note that I own several copies of this game and am not discussing piracy -- I've dumped my own ISOs and PS2 BIOS and everything
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Yeah there is a modpage for this and a few other Persona mods: https://shrinefox.github.io/mods
I only tried it in PCSX2 but should work on a modded ps2 as well as you said.
 
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