Help with the Megami Tensei series

[noiseredux]

good to know JT. The only SMT stuff I've spent any serious time on has been Revelations The Demonslayer (GBC) and DemiKids Light (GBA). At least I think that's it. I was really interested to give the Persona 2 fan translation a go though. (The P2 that was Japan-only obviously. Is it Innocence?)

[Gnashvar]

Many of these games require you to stay neutral to see most battles and I'm not sure about this, the best ending. This I found to be the hardest part of the games. For the SF games if you stay neutral you have to fight everyone LOL so that's actually fun.

[weasels]

personally i would say the persona games are my most hated in the series. too much teen angst along with some very unfair moments, and the stories are more on the lighter side of things which doesn't cut it for me when i here SMT. If your looking for dark story, i recommend SMT, SMT2 (get the translations mentioned above), and SMT Nocturn (which is considered the third game in the main series). i would also recommend the digital devil saga games and the devil summoner games (for the ps2) if you feel like trying something different for a bit. also, as far as i know SMT2 is a continuation of SMT1, but a different cast of characters and the setting has vastly changed due to the circumstances of the first game. so you could get away with playing SMT2 before SMT1

[Hatta]

I played Nocturne last spring, and am really close to the end of P3FES right now. No, you don't need any background to get into these games. I'm pretty enthusiastic about going back and playing the earlier games. I don't think a more simplistic battle system will bother me much, they were great RPGs for their time, and I like RPGs of that era.

[Bradtemple87]

good to know JT. The only SMT stuff I've spent any serious time on has been Revelations The Demonslayer (GBC) and DemiKids Light (GBA). At least I think that's it. I was really interested to give the Persona 2 fan translation a go though. (The P2 that was Japan-only obviously. Is it Innocence?)

correct, we hopefully will get the psp release of that game coming to japan soon if you can wait

[mobiusclimber]

There are two Persona games that are related, the two Persona 2 games, only one of which was released in the US. If you're going to play them both, play them in order (Innocent Sin, then Eternal Punishment). Also, you might want to play the first Persona game before them because characters from that game show up in the next two. It isn't necessary to understanding the story, tho.

For a nice diversion from the tough-as-nails SMT and Persona series, check out Devil Summoner 1 & 2. They're action-rpgs and a lot of fun.

[Erik_Twice]

An important note: If you ever want to play Persona 3 on the PS2 get the Persona 3 FES version, that includes 30 more hours of gameplay and ends the storyline (As I heard it ends in a cliffhanger). It also has welcome improvements for the main game.

Probably the PSP version is better, but I haven't tried it.

[lisalover1]

can the Personas be played out of order, or will they make no sense? Or will the story be ruined? Like, could I jump into a later Persona BEFORE playing the first?

No, you can play them out of order, but many of the games take place in the same universe. Persona 4, for example, has a brief period where you go back and visit some locales from Persona 3. Also, some claim that the final hidden boss from Persona 4 is actually one of the characters from the original Megami Tensei, but I haven't heard anything that connects the two, other than a name.

Also, the PSP version of Persona 3 is worse than the PS2 version, because it mostly contains 2D as opposed to 3D environments, has no FMV cutscenes, and does not have the 30 hours of extra content from FES. I don't know what I am going to do when I finish playing the portable version, and want to continue to FES.

[Erik_Twice]

Also, the PSP version of Persona 3 is worse than the PS2 version, because it mostly contains 2D as opposed to 3D environments, has no FMV cutscenes, and does not have the 30 hours of extra content from FES. I don't know what I am going to do when I finish playing the portable version, and want to continue to FES.

Ugh, I didn't expect that. PS2 version all the way then.

[Hatta]

I don't know what I am going to do when I finish playing the portable version, and want to continue to FES.

You can play the extra content in FES ("The Answer"), by itself. It doesn't force you to play the first part first. I guess they figured many people would have finished P3 and lost the save file already. I actually just started The Answer last night, and it starts you off with pretty much nothing.