Building My Playstation Collection

[CDink]

Ok i figured out I hated the gameplay in Vagrant Story and Threads.....what are the gameplay like in some of the other RPG's(lunar, persona, etc.). I like games to not necessarily be turn based..but i don't like the running around and slashing like those two..and I want a leveling system that makes sense.

[MrPopo]

So Lunar/Lunar 2 have a turn based battle system with an interesting component involving character movement. It's very similar to the Chrono Trigger battle system where the positioning of enemies can effect which skills will be most effective, but your normal attacks also require you to run up to the enemy and slash them. You then stay next to the enemy. And each character only can move a certain distance in a turn. Lunar's leveling system is your standard experience = levels, levels = stats, and levels = new skills.

Persona is a turn based game. However, the original Persona had a lot of changes occur during localization to make it more "accessable" to Americans, which isn't a good thing when the game is set in a Japanese high school and surrounding area. I'd recommend that if you have a PSP you hold off and pick up the PSP remake. This one will be getting a much more faithful localization. As I recall, your stats are made up of a combination of your equipped Persona and your own stats. Your own stats are assigned at level up manually, and you forge new contracts to get new Personas. So you have to continuously upgrade your Personas through the fusion system and contracting more to upgrade that half of your stats.

[CDink]

Ok, now do I have to play persona 1 and 2 to get 3 and 4? or are they like final fantasy where there connected by theme.

also the entire shin megami tensei thing confuses me...what are the american releases?

[MrPopo]

Sure, let me give you a rundown.

In America we have received the following games:

Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne (PS2) - standalone
Revelations: Persona (PS1) - standalone, raped during localization, getting a PSP rerelease
Persona 2: Eternal Punishment (PS1) - standalone, I think it makes a minor reference to Persona, but you don't need Persona to understand the story
Persona 3 (PS2) - standalone
Persona 3 FES (PS2) - an enhanced version of Persona 3 with additional content
Persona 4 (PS2) - standalone, with a minor reference to Persona 3. You'll enjoy the scene more if you've played Persona 3, but not required
Digital Devil Saga 1 & 2 (PS2) - directly connected. The ending of DDS1 leads straight into DDS2
Devil Summoner 1 & 2 (PS2) - directly connected. However, reports are (I haven't gotten to it yet) that you don't need to have played DS1 to understand the events of DS2, but it does make it more enjoyable
Jack Bros. (Virtual Boy) - completely unrelated to the rest. Also awesome.

[Erik_Twice]

Jack Bros. (Virtual Boy) - completely unrelated to the rest. Also awesome.

Really? No sarcasm? Is it really good?

BTW, Persona 2 was not raped during translation too? If not that changes my mind quite a bit on that game.

And remember, DON'T get Persona 3 but Persona 3 FES.

[MrPopo]

As far as I know Persona 2 got a quality translation. The one thing that sucks is that we only got Eternal Punishment. Persona 2 was actually released as two games. The first, Innocent Sin, was never released in America due to various issues (potential controversy in some of the content). At the end of Innocent Sin you essentially reset what happened in the first game and go back to the beginning, and that's where Eternal Punishment takes off. Innocent Sin did recently get a fan translation completed, though. As far as I know, you don't need to have played Innocent Sin to enjoy Eternal Punishment, but you gain more from the experience to compare and contrast how events play out in EP vs. IS.

And yes, Jack Bros. was sarcasm. It does have the distinction of being the first MegaTen game released in America, but it's really a very generic Gauntlet-esque game that makes your eyes hurt from the VB lenses.

[CDink]

Alright been awhile..let me catch everyone up too speed, picked up persona 3 and 4, and nocturne...didn't like persona on psp...the social simulator is what made me love 3..

[Xtincthed]

nice list u got there
i'm a playstation collector myself, there are so many great games on the ps1 / ps2

check out the site in my signature if you're into playstation collecting